All Along the Watchtower
by alisonmichal
Summary: Set right after the flag raising in Freak Nation and goes from there. Eventually M/A
1. Chapter 1

_Hey guys! So this is my first shot at writing strictly Dark Angel. I've written some Supernatural/Dark Angel Crossovers so if you're interested in those, check them out! I wrote this one because I'm take a small break at my other fic, so I really don't know where it's going...we'll see. If you like it, let me know!_

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Alec was alone on the roof now; the flag was still up, but everyone else had gone back inside. Alec stayed where he was. They were surrounded by the police, but they hadn't made any move to come inside. He didn't quite know what the plan was; Max had her own ideas about what they should do, but she wasn't giving them an actual plan.

He really wouldn't care what the plan was, but now they were all trapped there. So far, there was no way out as far as Alec could tell, and they couldn't really fight their way through.

"Hey," Max called out. Alec didn't turn; he'd heard her coming and he really didn't want to chat right now. His shoulder was throbbing and his ribs felt like they were on fire from the incident just a few hours before.

"What are you doing up here?" Max asked when he didn't respond. He still didn't turn around and he knew she was starting to get annoyed and he was proven right when she said, "We're getting together to make a plan, so get your ass downstairs." She turned and practically stomped down the stairs after she said that and Alec couldn't help his small smirk.

He still didn't move from his spot. He knew whatever was decided, Max would tell him later. There was so much they needed to do. They had some things set up from before the Jam Pony incident, but that didn't mean they were ready for long-term living. They needed to clean up some of the buildings so people could live in them, they needed to set up a better patrol and security system, and they needed to get some teams together to do supply runs. And those were just the more urgent things.

Alec ran his hand through his hair, exhaustion already starting to pull at him. But he couldn't sleep yet; probably wouldn't be able to sleep for a while actually. He finally hung his head, and then pushed off of the wall he'd been leaning on. He decided he actually should go to the meeting just so he could know what was really going on. Max would probably assign him something to do and she'd be pissed if she had to hunt him down later.

He casually walked down the stairs, and then leisurely made his way over to the group of people in command. Max was there and unfortunately so was Logan. It wasn't that Logan was a bad guy, in fact, he was an annoyingly good guy, but he was there all the time. This didn't even really affect him, and yet here he was, sticking his nose in their business again.

Besides Max and Logan, there was Mole, Joshua, Dix, Carter, Rain, and Jen. Alec had met Carter here in TC, but he knew Rain and Jen from Manticore.

"Look who finally decided to show up," Mole grumbled as he walked up. "Now that Pretty Boy's here, can we get on with this, Princess?"

Max shot the lizard man a glare, but then addressed the group, "Ok people, listen up, we have a lot to do since it looks like we'll be staying here-"

"Not like we have a choice…" Mole muttered.

Max ignored him, "Rain and Jen, you two get some people together to start cleaning up some places for us to live. Take however many people you need to get the job done and make a list of things for Alec to get. Alec and Carter, you guys get some supply teams together and get food, clothes, anything we need to get by. Alec, I hate to say it, but try and get your contacts to help us."

Alec just nodded in reply, even though he didn't think any of his contacts would actually deal with him anymore. He was a transgenic after all, and he wouldn't be surprised if his picture wasn't being sent around right now.

"Mole, get this place secure. I want patrols 'round the clock, but do not engage unless it's self-defense. Understand?" Mole grumbled something around his cigar, which Max must have taken as his grudging agreement. "Dix, keep doing what you're doing. If you find any other transgenics, let me know, and try to get any intel on where White is." Dix nodded his ok and Max looked around the group to make sure she'd gotten everyone.

"What about me? What should Joshua do?" Joshua asked after a moment.

"Try to keep everyone's spirits up, ok Big Fella?" Max asked with a small smile.

"Ok Little Fella," Joshua excitedly replied, and then he bounded off to do what Max had told him.

In fact, now that Alec looked around, everyone had gone off to do their jobs and now it was just him, Max, and Logan. He'd missed everyone leaving and now he was just standing there.

Max raised her eyebrows in question. She was starting to look a little concerned so Alec suddenly threw on his smirk so she wouldn't ask. It worked just as he wanted because as soon as his smirk appeared she glared, and then immediately turned to Logan, completely dismissing him.

He took as deep of a breath as his broken ribs would allow and slowly turned away from Max and Logan. He needed to find Carter and see what he wanted to do. Carter was an X5-series with short brown hair. He was a little smaller than Alec, but he was fast which made him really good on supply runs.

"Hey man," Carter greeted as Alec walked up.

"Hey," Alec easily replied.

"You have any ideas for the supply teams?"

Alec nodded slowly; he absentmindedly rubbed his injured shoulder as he said, "Each team should have six people so there are enough to get the supplies and to cover just in case…"

Carter nodded in agreement and then said, "You think 6 teams? We do a rotation and depending on how much we need, we have one or two teams out at a time. To start, we'll probably need more out at a time."

"I agree," Alec replied, "We're going to need 36 people who are fast and good at blending in."

"And who can work together," Carter threw in and Alec bit his bottom lip in thought and nodded.

"Alright," Alec finally said, "Let's ask around and see who we can get, make a list, and then split up the teams. I'm going to try and find a safe way out of here so we can get the teams in and out, and then we'll make up the teams in the morning."

"Sounds like a plan," Carter replied. He clapped Alec on the shoulder and Alec had to hide his wince of pain as Carter walked away.

Alec stood there for a minute thinking about the best way to get out of TC without the sector cops seeing him. It had to be good for 6 people carrying supplies, sometimes really big supplies. They needed a really easy way in and out, but big enough to get cars through.

"Hey," Max suddenly said and Alec couldn't help jumping in surprise. He actually hadn't heard her walk up this time. Max narrowed her eyes at his jumpiness and asked, "What are you doing? You look like you're about to have an aneurism with all that thinking."

"I'm gonna find a way out of here for the teams to go through," Alec answered with a scowl.

"Want some company?" Max casually offered, but Alec knew she was already starting to feel trapped here.

"Y'know, I'm trying to be sneaky," Alec said with a small smirk. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion so he said, "Every person in Seattle knows what you look like. Besides, don't you and Logan have things to _talk_ about?"

"For one, they should know what you look like too. Besides that, if you're being sneaky, then they shouldn't see me at all. And two, me and Logan are none of your business," Max replied crossly.

Alec just smiled more at getting under Max's skin. She bristled even more when he smiled, and then grabbed his wrist and started pulling him towards the tunnels. Alec couldn't help his hiss of pain as Max pulled on his hurt arm.

Alec wrenched his arm from her grip and rubbed his shoulder. "Obviously you forgot I was shot," Alec said hotly.

Max turned and looked at him in confusion that turned into guilt, "Alec, I'm-"

"Its fine," Alec interrupted, brushing by her and taking the lead to the tunnels.

He didn't wait to see if she was following him or not, honestly, he didn't care. He had wanted to go by himself anyway, but Max was going to do whatever she wanted; it didn't matter what he wanted. She caught up to him a moment later, confirming what he had already thought.

He slowed down as he got closer to the tunnel that he thought would be far enough outside of the radius around TC. There was a maze of tunnels through TC and into the city that turned into the sewer system. This part was really nice compared to the sewers in the middle of the city.

Alec quickly climbed up the ladder, and then barely pushed up the manhole so he could see the street outside. It was pretty clear on this side of the city so Alec pushed the cover the rest of the way off and hoisted himself onto the street. He waited for Max to come up before they both started jogging to the closest cover in case anyone saw them.

"Ok, so we got out, what else did you want to do?" Max asked as they crouched in the darkness of the alley.

"Well, that one is only really good for one or two people, not for a team of 6 carrying supplies," Alec said.

"6?" Max asked in surprise. "You really think that many need to be on a team?"

"Yes," Alec said firmly. "Do you even realize how many supply runs we're gonna have to do?" Max slowly shook her head no. "How many transgenics are in TC?"

"Umm…over 100?" Max said, more of a question than a statement.

"218 and counting," Alec said. Max opened her mouth to ask how he knew that, and he answered before she could, "I've counted and I have Dix and some others keeping track of who's coming and going. Each person needs 3 meals a day so that's 654 meals in one day for only 36 people to go get. But, only 2, maybe 3, teams can really go out at a time, so at most that's 18 people for 218. Unless you want all 36 to do nonstop runs and push ourselves past the point of exhaustion."

"Ok, you've made your point," Max grumbled. "I'll leave the supplies to you."

"Good," Alec shot back. He was being short with her, but she needed to start realizing the magnitude of their situation. She was all for them sticking together, but she didn't have all the logistics figured out. "Let's circle around TC and maybe we'll find a good spot to sneak some trucks through," Alec muttered after a minute.

Max just nodded back and they started making their way around their new home. It looked just as depressing and desolate on the outside as it did on the inside. Alec couldn't believe he was willingly living in this dump.

He'd entertained the idea of leaving, but now he was in too deep. People were depending on him now and he couldn't just abandon them. And he couldn't leave Max on her own to deal with this.

Alec suddenly got an idea and started to look around for a building that would be tall enough. He wanted to get high enough up that he could see all of TC and maybe see a good spot. He looked up and down the street for a building and finally saw one a few blocks away. He took off at a jog, and Max actually didn't question what he was doing for once.

He went to the back of the building and looked up for a fire escape. He finally spotted one to the side of the building and made his way to it. He bunched up his muscles, and then easily jumped up to the first landing. Max jumped up after him, and then they slowly started to climb.

They made it to the top where the wind blew their hair and clothes, but it was peaceful up there. And it had the desired effect; Alec could easily see the entire layout of TC from where he stood.

"Do you see what you're looking for?" Max asked.

Alec didn't answer. Instead, he crouched down and scanned the fence line until he saw what he wanted. Alec moved to stand so he was slightly behind Max but almost as close as he could get; her back was just barely touching his chest. She stiffened with his proximity, not used to him being that close to her.

"See that section to the left?" Alec whispered by Max's ear and pointing to the stretch of fence that was dipping down. Max shuddered when his breath brushed her skin, but she nodded that she saw what he was talking about. "That's what I want," Alec lowly breathed out.

Max barely turned her head and their lips were suddenly just a breath apart. Alec could practically hear Max's heart pounding; his own was going twice as fast as normal. Max's eyes closed, seemingly of their own accord, waiting for him to make the move.

He waited for just a minute, and then suddenly took a step back, losing the heat that was pouring off of her. She looked up at him in surprise and he shook his head.

"Max," Alec said lowly; amusement coloring his voice. "You can't pretend that I'm your boyfriend, and then go and hold hands with your ex…"

Max glared at him and for a second, Alec thought she was going to push him off of the roof, but she didn't. She just spun on her heel and stomped back to the fire escape.

"You're an ass," she threw over her shoulder.

"Hey, I'm not the one cheating in this fake relationship!" Alec called back.

"I am not cheating!" Max practically yelled. "We aren't in a relationship and me and Logan are not getting back together."

"Coulda fooled me," Alec replied, slowly following her down the ladder. "Y'know, when I hold hands with someone, it probably means I want to be in a relationship with them. _And_ , you're the one who asked me to be your fake boyfriend…I can't believe you're cheating in our fake relationship. I haven't cheated on you…"

"Would you just stop talking," Max said.

"You didn't have to come with me Max," Alec said, slightly annoyed now.

Max jumped to the ground, and then took a deep breath as he landed next to her. "Sorry…you just caught me off guard…and now I'm just…"

"It's ok," Alec brushed off, taking the lead again to head back to TC.

"When do you think the first team can go out?" Max asked; changing the subject back to business.

"I'm going to talk to some people tonight and try to get some to commit, talk to Carter in the morning to see who he's got, and then hopefully that night two teams will be ready to go," Alec said.

"What about the fence?" Max asked.

"I'll get some people to work on it tonight. I want it to be a kind of gate, but I don't want it to be obvious so it might take a while…" Alec replied, trying to calculate how long it would take to get it done.

"If it's not done, what will you do?"

"We'll use the tunnels if the gate isn't available…you know we're going to have to steal this stuff, right?" Alec suddenly asked. He knew how Max's morals shifted around. Sometimes she was all for stealing and other times she criticized him for how he got his things.

"I know," Max said quietly. "Just try not to steal it from people who can't afford it…"

"So steal from the rich," Alec said with a smile.

"Exactly," Max replied, matching his smile.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until Max asked, "So, when do you sleep in that schedule of yours?"

Alec huffed out a laugh, "What's sleep?

Max lightly pushed him to the side and he smiled. "Just try to fit it in somewhere," she said with a chuckle.

"What about you? When are you going to sleep?" Alec asked.

"I don't need sleep, I have that handy shark DNA," Max replied.

Alec laughed and admitted, "Yeah, I don't have that…"

They were almost to the manhole now, and Alec noticed that Max actually looked reluctant to go back.

"You ok?" Alec asked, slowing down so Max would hopefully keep talking.

"Yeah…" Max started slowly. "I just…"

"Don't want to go back?" Alec asked, trying to figure out Max's hesitation.

Max took a deep breath and looked at him with her big brown eyes. She was almost begging him not to judge her. "Everyone is just looking at me like I'm going to fix everything…but I don't know if I can…" Alec moved forward to put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "I got everyone to stay, but what if I just end up getting everyone killed?"

"Hey, it's alright," Alec reassured. "They wouldn't have stayed if they didn't believe in you, trust me. Besides, we're a bunch of fighters, we're not just going to lay down and die. We'll figure it out."

Max took another deep breath and nodded, composing herself. "You're right…"

"I'm sorry, what?" Alec said with a smile. "I don't think I heard you…"

"Shut up," Max said, smiling back. She moved to shove him, but he had already darted away and started down the manhole.

"I wish I would have recorded that!" Alec called up. "No one will believe it now!"

"Shut up," Max said again, but she was trying not to laugh as she followed him down.

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 _More soon?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks everyone for the reviews/follows/favorites! They helped get this chapter up!_

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Max practically stormed into command; people moved as fast as they could to get out of her way. But her guard, Rocky, followed her none the less.

"Where is he?" Max almost snarled. She scanned the faces around her, but they were refusing to meet her gaze. Except for Mole, who was chewing his cigar and smirking at her. "Mole, where is he? He was supposed to get back 15 minutes ago." Max directed at the lizard-man. She knew he would give her a straight answer and he probably knew where Alec was.

"Went out on another run, I expect," Mole informed her.

"Did you tell him that I needed to talk to him?" Max asked back.

Mole nodded, "Yeah, which is why he jumped on another run," Mole said in amusement. She glared at him, so he slowly placated, "He really didn't do it on purpose. There was a lead for a big run and since Razor is down, he took her spot."

Max still didn't like it, but she couldn't do anything about it now. "When he gets back, _do not_ let him leave again. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Mole mocked, but she knew he would do what she asked.

She turned to leave and Rocky stayed right with her. She wanted to snap at him, again, but it wouldn't do any good. She'd already tried that and he'd informed her that he was under orders, and there was no way he was disobeying.

It'd taken her a while to figure out that Alec had been the one to give the order. And after she figured that out, she knew she wasn't getting rid of Rocky unless it came directly from Alec. The transgenics loved Alec and would follow his orders no matter what. If he said something needed to get done, it would.

If she said something needed to get done, people would do it, but they would complain about it. It was extremely frustrating.

After her and Alec had gotten back to TC, they had gone their separate ways. Alec had gone to get some people to work on the fence while she went to check in with how things were going.

The patrols were set up, there wasn't any sign of White, and so far, the sector cops hadn't made a move on them. She needed to try and get ahold of people who could get the cops to back off. Then, she wanted to start talking about equal rights. Or, at least a way to get supplies without stealing them. She would work on the rights for a while, but that was down the line. Right now, they were just trying to survive.

It was just a few hours later when she had gotten word that Alec had managed to get the gate up and had gotten a team together to make their first run. It wasn't long after that when Rocky showed up.

Rocky was a big guy; his arms were huge and she imagined he'd been a bodyguard for higher ups back at Manticore. She thought he might have some bear in him. In the short time he'd been around her, he'd joked and talked like a teddy bear, but then actually growled at someone who'd gotten too close to her.

She really didn't mind Rocky as a person. What she didn't want though, was a bodyguard. She could take care of herself and it was even more annoying that Alec didn't think she could. Which was why she wanted to find him. He could dismiss the order, then she'd be free of her bodyguard and she'd get the added bonus of knocking some sense into Alec.

That is, if he ever stopped avoiding her.

He'd been gone for over a day and a half doing nonstop runs. True, they needed a lot of things to make this place livable for 218 transgenics, but Alec was starting to run himself ragged. She wanted to kick his ass for giving her a bodyguard, hug him for taking care of so much and make him get a good night's sleep, and curse him until she was out of breath for making her care about him.

She used to hate him and only tolerate his presence. Now, she was relying on him to help her keep this place running. It was weird how that worked.

Max made her way across Command to where Dix and Luke were at the computers. She knew they would have an ETA on Alec.

"Another hour at least," Dix said as she walked up. She didn't even have to ask anymore. She'd been asking when Alec would get back ever since Rocky showed up.

She'd tried to get to the gate the other times Alec was supposed to arrive, but each time something else demanded her attention. It was a lot of work running this place. She wanted to enact a chain of command, but at the same time she didn't want to order people around. But if people started lounging around and refusing to work, that was going to be a problem. It was a difficult balancing act.

Max almost groaned in frustration at the news. It would probably be two hours before Alec was actually free enough to talk to.

"Max?" A timid voice suddenly asked.

Max whirled around and saw Dalton was the one trying to get her attention. "Yeah?" Max relied with an encouraging smile.

"We have a place ready for you," Dalton said, and Max frowned at him in confusion. "Alec told us where to put your stuff and which apartment to give you. I hope that's ok?" Dalton quickly explained. "Rain and Jen cleared a building and Alec assigned some of the apartments, but not all of them."

Max was shocked; where had Alec found time to do all this? "Um, ok," Max replied slowly. "I guess lead the way…"

Dalton instantly looked relieved and he started to lead the way out of Command. They went to the building right next to Command and started climbing the stairs. It was a four story building and Alec had felt the need to put her all the way at the top.

There were two doors on the top floor, one on each side of the hallway. Dalton went to the door on the left and quickly unlocked it.

There was a spacious living room as soon as you walked inside, with a squishy looking sofa and a pretty big TV in the room. There was a bar that separated the kitchen and living room, and then a hallway that led to more rooms. There was one bathroom and two bedrooms.

"Who's my roommate?" Max asked curiously. She hadn't really thought about sharing, but it made sense. There were more transgenics than rooms so they were going to at least have to double up.

Dalton looked uncomfortable and Rocky refused to meet her eyes.

"Just tell me," Max breathed out.

"Alec," Rocky finally replied.

Max's mouth dropped open in shock. "What!?"

"You coulda done worse," Rocky said with a shrug. "Just be glad Alec didn't assign me to be your roommate."

"Or Mole!" Dalton threw in.

Max just grumbled and stomped out of the room. She would just add this to the list of things she was going to 'talk' to Alec about.

"Who lives here?" Max demanded when she got back to the hallway and pointed to her neighbor's door.

"Me," Rocky replied happily. "Me and Bear."

Max groaned in frustration.

* * *

"They got an entire truck of food!" Dix announced excitedly to Command. Cheers erupted from this announcement, but Max moved closer to the computers.

"That means they're on their way back, right?"

Dix nodded, "They'll be coming through the gate in 5, and then they're headed straight to the Mess Hall."

Max turned to Mole and said, "Get a team to the Mess to unload the truck."

"On it," Mole replied.

"Which teams are out on runs?" Max asked. Alec and Carter had both worked really fast to get six teams together and get a rotation in order. Max was impressed.

"Technically, Razor's team just got back, Carter's team is still out there, and Beep's team is about to head out," Luke answered.

"When's Alec's team going again?"

"They've got down time for another 2 hours before they go again."

"Good," Max said, turning and leaving the room. She was going to find Alec before he disappeared again.

She was practically running down the halls to get to their make shift Mess Hall. It was connected to Command just like the Infirmary, so she would hopefully beat the team there.

"Max!" Somebody suddenly called out, causing her to stop and turn; Rocky stopped too.

"What!?" Max snapped. She didn't realize it had been Logan who called out to her until she turned. She caught a hurt look cross his face and she felt guilty for snapping at him. But she really needed to talk to Alec. "Now's not a good time Logan," Max tried to explain.

"Sorry," Logan immediately apologized. "I've just been trying to catch you all day…"

"Welcome to the club," Max said with a small smile. "Look, I'll find you later. I've really got to go now."

"Ok," Logan reluctantly relented.

She gave him one more smile before she turned and started running again with Rocky right beside her.

They slowed once they reached the entrance and Max scanned the faces around her. She didn't see him right away, but then she thought she caught a glimpse of his short-dark blonde hair. She wove her way through the crowd and saw he was talking to another transgenic.

By the time she got to the transgenic Alec had been talking to, he was gone.

"Where'd he go?" Max asked.

"He said he was going to catch a nap before the next run," the transgenic answered.

Max nodded her thanks, and then took off. She hoped he was going to the apartment and not the little office with a sofa in it in Command. She was closer to the apartment now than she was to the office, so she would go there first. Either way, she was going to find him.

She ran back to the apartment and took the stairs two at a time to get to the fourth floor. The door was ajar when she got to the top, and she knew she had chosen correctly. And Alec was expecting her; otherwise he wouldn't have left the door open.

Before she went in, she turned to Rocky and said, "You aren't going in there."

"That's fine," Rocky said with a smirk.

"Now you're suddenly fine with leaving my side?" Max asked incredulously.

Rocky just nodded in reply and took up a position to stand guard by the door. Max huffed, but she didn't argue with the new found freedom. She pushed the door open further, and then stepped into the room. Alec was sprawled out across the sofa, one hand resting on his chest and his other arm thrown over his eyes.

Max felt her anger evaporate at how exhausted he looked. The last time he'd slept had been before the Jam Pony incident, and that had been almost two days ago now.

"Alec…" Max said softly.

"Whatever you want to say, Max, you better hurry up…" Alec muttered without moving his arm from his eyes.

Max took a deep breath, suddenly unsure if she wanted to get into this now.

Alec finally dropped his arm and glared at her, "I have less than two hours to get some sleep. I know you've been looking for me to tear me a new one, so start talkin'."

That got her anger flaring again, "You assigned a bodyguard to me?" Max finally asked, anger coloring her tone.

Alec nodded and it was clear he wasn't sorry about it. Max was just about to start yelling when Alec held up one finger to stop her. "Max, you're the leader now. That means people are gonna be gunning for you. People out there and people from inside. You're gonna make a call that people won't agree with and someone will take matters into their own hands. You're not changing my mind on this one."

"I can take care of myself!" Max argued.

"I know you can. I wasn't saying you couldn't," Alec defended himself. "I'm just saying, people will think twice if you have someone with you and that's an extra set of eyes looking out for any problems."

Max hated it, but it made sense. "Fine."

"Good." Alec started to get comfortable again, but Max wasn't done.

"Why did you assign us as roommates?" Max asked after just a moment.

Alec groaned and slowly sat up, bracing his ribs as he did. "I'm so sorry I didn't consult you first before putting us in the same apartment," Alec said sarcastically.

"I don't want to live with you!" Max shot back.

"You think I want to live with you?" Alec replied. "Your bossy and I know you're gonna take over the whole apartment _and_ this means you can yell at me any time you want!"

"So why did you put us together!?" She couldn't help but yell.

Alec shot to his feet in anger so he could face off with her. "For one, it was your idea to be in a fake relationship, I'm just playing along. This keeps up your stupid story! Two, I could have given you someone a lot worse. And three, we're hardly going to be here at the same time anyway!"

Max's anger suddenly left her again because what he said made sense. He didn't do this to push her buttons; he did it because it was logical.

Alec sank back to sit on the sofa and put his head in his hands. He looked so tired and Max really felt bad now. She slowly walked over and sat next to him. She still didn't like the bodyguard thing, but she would just have to deal with it.

"I'm sorry," Max quietly apologized; she was never really good at admitting when she was wrong.

Alec turned his head to glance over at her through his lashes and he smiled a little, "It's ok, I should have known this was going to be a bad idea…"

"No, it's a good idea," Max admitted. "We really won't be here much, and even if we were, you're a better roommate than Mole…"

Alec smirked and nodded, "I could still arrange that…"

"Don't you dare," Max said with a laugh.

They were quiet for a minute, and then Alec asked, "Are you done yelling at me?"

"For now…" Max replied.

"So I can sleep now, right?" Alec asked in amusement.

"Yeah, you can sleep," Max replied, lightly bumping against his shoulder. "Besides, I've gotta go find Logan…"

Alec shifted so he could lay behind her and stretch out again. He was slightly curled around her, but he didn't seem to mind. "Great…glad I'm missing that…"

"You should be nice," Max replied. "He's probably going to be around for a while trying to help out." She almost wanted to revel in the warmth from Alec being pressed against her back, it felt really good. Alec groaned in annoyance at hearing that Logan would still be around.

"Y'know, you still have the virus," Alec mumbled, pressing his face to the cushion. "No touchy…"

"I know that," Max almost snapped, but stopped at the last second since Alec sounded so sleepy. "But he's wearing gloves so it's ok; no skin contact. And I know you think we're going to forget that, but we aren't. Besides that, we're not even together…That bit at the flag raising was just kinda spur of the moment…" Max knew she was rambling now and she expected Alec to cut her off soon. "He knows we can't be together. Even if the virus was gone…who knows…are you even listening to me?"

Max turn around to glare at Alec for not stopping her rambling, but then she softened at seeing his face relaxed in sleep. She couldn't help her small smile at his face squished against the cushion and wished she could take a picture to keep it for later.

Her smile wavered when she actually noticed how tired he really looked; there were dark circles under his eyes and he looked paler than he usually did. There were freckles across his nose that she'd never noticed before that made him seem younger than he actually was. She would have to remember that to tease him later.

For now, she was going to let him rest; he deserved it after everything he'd done. Max got up and went to the first bedroom. She wasn't really sure if it was supposed to be hers or Alec's, but it didn't matter. She grabbed the blanket off of the bed and the pillow, and then walked back to where Alec was fast asleep on the sofa.

Max gently lifted Alec's head and slipped the pillow beneath him and settled him against it. Then she tossed the blanket over him and tucked it around him. She couldn't stop herself from brushing her fingers through his short hair, suddenly getting a feeling of warmth just looking at him. He better actually be asleep, or else she would probably regret doing all of this later.

She gave him one last look before she started for the door. She had things to do and Alec needed his sleep. She would come back in a little while to get him up so he could go on his run. She really didn't want to send him out again, but he'd be pissed if she forced him to stay. Not that she could really force him to do anything.

Max sighed when she walked out of the apartment and Rocky was standing there, waiting for her. She'd forgotten about being stuck with a bodyguard. She'd have to get used to it too, since Alec had technically won that fight. That was annoying. She was going to have to come up with a better argument for the next time she brought it up.

"Looks like you're stuck with me for a while," Rocky said as a greeting.

"Y'know, if you wanted some time off, I wouldn't complain," Max replied, starting down the stairs.

"I'm good," Rocky said, following her. "Besides, Alec's got time off worked out already."

"Of course he does…" Max grumbled. But she couldn't ignore the small flutter in her stomach at just the mention of Alec. She shook her head to clear it; now wasn't the time to be thinking about that kind of thing. Especially since it was Alec. But she had a small smile on her face all the same.

* * *

 _More soon (hope you all still like it)_


	3. Chapter 3

Alec wanted to groan when he woke up less than an hour later. He was surprised to find that he was lying on a pillow and that a blanket was over him. He didn't remember getting those and the only way they could have gotten there was Max putting them there. Which didn't make any sense at all. Why would Max do that for him?

Alec thought about it for just a minute, but he couldn't figure out why she would do that. She was supposed to be mad at him, not giving him a pillow and blanket while he slept.

He really hadn't done these things to piss her off, but he knew she'd be mad anyway. The bodyguard thing was really for her best interest in the long run. Right now they didn't have any problems, but later he knew some of the more power hungry transgenics would pop up. Or White would show up again and take a shot at her, or the ordinaries would rise up and put a hit on them. It just made sense for her to have a bodyguard, and even though she hated it, he wasn't changing his mind. They needed a leader, and that was Max, and they needed that leader to stay safe.

He knew that being roommates though, would probably get his ass kicked. The bodyguard thing was reasonable, but being roommates? He couldn't believe she'd actually listened to his reasoning and let it go without tearing him apart. But it really did make sense for them to room together, especially if she was going to keep up their fake relationship.

Alec didn't really mind the fake relationship, but if Max wanted to keep Logan back, then she needed to quit holding hands with him. Once he got caught up on some more sleep, he would straighten some things out with the computer geek over his fake relationship. That was going to be fun.

Alec sat up, but then winced with the pain of his ribs. He was really ready for those to start healing, but he needed a break for them to do that. Same with his shoulder, but he wasn't going to get a break for a while. Besides, all of these runs weren't helping. Escape and evade weren't exactly the best healing techniques.

He leaned his head back against the cushion and rested his eyes. He still had so much to do; they weren't even close to having this place livable. This next run would hopefully be another big one that got some more apartments ready.

He checked his watch after a few minutes and figured he had enough time for a quick shower before he made his way back to Command. He had to force himself to get off of the sofa, but he managed it and he made his way to his room.

He thought it was a little funny that Max had gotten the blanket and pillow from her bed and not his. But then again, she probably hadn't known whose room was whose. The two rooms looked the same, but the few clothes that he had were in the second room while Max's were in the first room.

Alec didn't bother getting clothes; he just went straight to the bathroom. Max shouldn't be back to the apartment anyway, so it didn't matter. She was either stuck in Command or stuck talking to Logan. He knew which one would be worse, but either way she wouldn't be back.

He quickly stripped down and turned the water as hot as it would go. It was really amazing that they even had water considering this place was such a dump. Growing up in Manticore had kept them from relying on normal comforts, but it was still nice to have a shower.

The water felt so good, he wanted to stay in there forever. But he didn't have a whole lot of time left before he needed to go. The shower definitely helped make him feel better and it woke him up a little. It washed the dirt and grime that had gotten on him from the past two days and made him feel like a completely new person.

Reluctantly, Alec shut off the shower three minutes later and grabbed one of the towels hanging on the rack. Dalton had really outdone himself setting this place up. He rubbed the towel through his hair to dry it a little, and then wrapped the towel around his waist.

He left the bathroom and silently walked to the kitchen to get a drink of water. Now that he thought of it, he hadn't eaten anything in a while either. He'd have to stop by the Mess Hall though, for food. They didn't have anything yet for the apartments.

He drank the entire glass of water, and then filled it up again. He walked around the bar, but then stopped at the sound of the doorknob turning. He was shocked when Max was the one who walked inside.

She walked in and the first place she looked was the sofa. She frowned in confusion when she didn't see him there and he had to admit, it was kinda cute. She scanned the room, and when her eyes finally landed on him, he almost snorted at the look on her face when she saw him.

Her eyes widened and her mouth almost dropped open. He looked down at himself, confused as to why she would be looking at him like that, and then smirked when he realized he was still just in a towel.

"Cat got your tongue, Maxie?" Alec asked in amusement.

Her shock was immediately replaced by a glare, "Would it kill you to put on some clothes?"

Alec raised his eyebrows in thought, "It might." Max still glared at him, "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"Yes," Max instantly replied.

Alec rolled his eyes, "Oh, c'mon Max, you know you've seen this before and it didn't seem to bother you."

"I was just surprised! I wasn't expecting to walk in and find you practically naked!" Max replied, slightly flustered.

"I want to be comfortable in my own apartment, sue me," Alec shot back. She always managed to aggravate him to no end.

"This is why I didn't want to room with you in the first place!" Max shouted.

"Are you kidding me right now!?" Alec yelled. "How was I supposed to know you were coming back!?"

"I live here now too! You can't just walk around like this!"

"Why not!?"

"Because I live here too!"

"I didn't know you were coming back! Otherwise I wouldn't have walked around like this!"

Max opened her mouth to yell at him some more, but then stopped. She suddenly looked a little guilty for yelling. "Is that still from the other day?" She asked quietly, pointing to his side.

He nodded, but refused to say anything. He was still mad at her for yelling at him for no real reason. It wasn't like he was indecent, it was just his chest that was uncovered and she'd seen that before. It didn't make sense and Alec thought she was just yelling at him because it was one of her favorite things to do.

"It looks pretty bad…maybe you should have someone look at it," Max said after the silence started to stretch.

"They're just bruises," Alec muttered shortly.

Max moved towards him, but stopped at the look he shot her. She held her hands up in surrender and said, "Let me just clean up your shoulder…"

Alec glanced down at his shoulder in confusion. He'd taken off the bandage when he'd gotten in the shower and he hadn't redone it yet. The previous bandage had started to soak through; he'd put the stitches in before his first run, but they kept tearing. He hadn't put the new stitches in yet and now there was a trail of blood coming from his shoulder and snaking down his chest.

"I've got it," Alec replied, moving to go back to the bathroom. Max followed him and he turned around and growled, "I said, I've got it."

"I heard you," Max said, brushing by him and grabbing a clean washcloth and running it under the water. "Sit down," she practically ordered when he didn't move from the doorway.

"I don't need your help Max," Alec replied stubbornly.

She grabbed his arm anyway and drug him to sit on the closed toilet. "Why do you have to make everything so difficult?"

He glared at him, but let her clean the blood off of him. It was easier to just let her do what she wanted, but he still didn't like it.

"Why'd you come up here anyway? Just to yell at me?" Alec asked after a minute.

She blushed a little, which was funny, and then mumbled, "I was going to wake you up…"

"Really?" Alec asked in disbelief. That didn't really sound like Max. That was being was too thoughtful towards him.

"Yes really," Max replied hotly, "And then I come in and you're practically naked…and I was just surprised…"

"Sorry," Alec said with a chuckle. "I really didn't think you were coming back."

Max gave him a small smile, "I'm sorry I overreacted."

"It's alright," Alec said, returning her smile.

She put in new stitches, and then carefully put a new bandage over it. "This will probably need to be changed after your run, knowing how you are…"

"Hey, I can't help it," Alec defended with a light laugh, and then teased, "Besides, with such a hot doctor, why would I ever try to be safe again?"

Max couldn't help her surprised laugh, and Alec really liked that laugh and found that he was joining in. He couldn't remember a time when they'd ever laughed together; it was a nice change.

"Alright, you're good to go," Max said, patting his knee. She looked surprised that she'd done that, but she didn't say anything about it. "You better get going; otherwise you're going to be late." She got up after that, and left the room.

That whole thing was weird, but maybe that was a sign that they were actually going to get along now. Which would be really good since they were going to be stuck with each other for a long time. If this was going to work, they couldn't be at each other's throats all the time. That was going to take some work, but maybe they could do it.

* * *

Alec crouched down and started to pick the lock on the side door. They were at a warehouse, and a truck was about to go out loaded with mattresses and bedding. They really needed more of that for all of the apartments they were going to have.

Lucky, a shaggy haired teenager that had the fastest reflexes Alec had ever seen, was standing guard behind him. He was one of the first ones Alec had recruited and he'd definitely proven himself in the past two days.

"You gettin' a little rusty?" Lucky teasingly asked. It was taking longer than usual for him to pick the lock, but he knew he would get it eventually. Alec just shot him a quick glare in reply, but quickly went back to what he was doing.

His other teammates were Reggie, a transhuman who had more cheetah in him than human, Charlie and Sarah, both X5's, and Spark, an X6 who could blow up just about anything. They'd gone on two runs already and so far they all worked well together.

Alec finally got the door unlocked and they all snuck through. They had watched the guard rotation for a while, and they were pretty sure the room would be clear. They were still cautious though, just in case their intel was wrong. They stuck to the shadows and made their way to the trucks at the far end of the warehouse.

Alec motioned for his team to spread out and find a truck that they could steal. There were five trucks, but they quickly found out that only two of them were loaded. Charlie and Sarah were both in one truck looking around while Spark and Reggie were looking in the other. Alec and Lucky were keeping watch while they decided which truck they should take. They couldn't take both since they didn't want too much traffic going through their gate; it would be too obvious and they needed to keep their gate secret.

"Hey!" Someone suddenly shouted, making Alec and Lucky turn in sync toward the voice. A guard had just walked in from a door across the room. He was already speaking into the radio clipped onto his shirt, calling for backup.

Alec motioned for Lucky to run to the trucks; Spark and Reggie had already moved to Charlie and Sarah's truck, with Sarah in the driver's seat. Lucky ran to the back and got in while Alec ran to the passenger side. Sarah backed the truck up and started to turn for the exit, but there were already guards shutting the place down. She glanced over at him for what she should do.

"Keep going whether the door's open or not," Alec ordered. "Once you're out, you might have to shake some sector cops. Lose 'em before you head home."

"What are you going to do?" Sarah asked, detecting that he wasn't including himself since he was giving her orders for later.

Alec shot her a cocky smile, "I'm gonna get the door open."

He gave her a wink, and then before she could say anything to stop him, he opened the door and jumped out of the truck. He had to run a bit so he wouldn't fall, but then he blurred over to where the guards were by the door.

There were only five of them, so it was fairly easy to knock them all out and get the door open. He'd felt the stitches that Max had put in tear after he'd taken out the last guy. He'd have to redo them again when he got back.

Sarah started to slow down to pick him up, but Alec waved her on. He could hear sirens in the distance and knew they weren't free yet. He jogged outside behind the truck and found the closest car parked on the street.

It was a red, two-door Chevy, and when he peeked in the window, he saw that it was a manual instead of automatic. It didn't really matter either way since he could easily drive both. He tried the door, but it was locked so he turned and shattered the window with his elbow. He got inside and quickly hotwired the old car.

It drove fairly well considering it was probably 10 years old, and Alec easily caught up with his team in the truck. His team stopped at an intersection to turn when the sirens started to sound closer. It was a few more blocks before the first cop car swung into view.

Alec smiled as he shifted the car from third to fourth and cut the cop off. He blocked the car from passing him, and then slammed on his brakes so the truck could make a sharp turn without being followed.

He quickly downshifted back to first, and went up as he accelerated. The cop followed him instead of going after the truck, which was just what he wanted. He got his car back up to forth gear and flew around the corner. Behind him, another cop joined the chase.

He was trying to get far enough ahead to lose them, but his car just didn't have the turn capacity or the speed that he needed. He flew through one of the checkpoints, getting another cop on his tail.

Alec pulled on his seatbelt since he was now going faster than was safe for even his reflexes, and he was about to do something really stupid.

He pushed his little car past 70 and started flying through the intersections. Tires screeched from other cars, just barely stopping before crashing into him. He barely let off of the gas as he took a hard turn to the right.

His car almost went up on two wheels and he held on for dear life. He distantly heard crashes, but his main focus was his own fate. He finally got his car back under his control, and he couldn't help his victorious smile. He shot a glance to the rearview mirror and saw that all of the cops that had been following him had gotten caught up in that turn. He was pretty much free now, since no one was following him.

He wasn't paying as much attention as he should have been as he went through the next intersection, and immediately regretted it. Another car slammed into his back left side, spinning his car out of control. He tried to stop the motion and regain control, but couldn't. The only thing that stopped him was the side of a building.

It was a jarring stop that threw him forward, slamming his head against the steering wheel, and then against his door. It took him a minute to bring himself back to somewhat together. Everything was spinning, but he couldn't sit here long; it would be very bad news if he was caught.

He tried to undo his seatbelt, but it was stuck, so he got his knife out and cut himself free. He shoved the door open, and then tried to climb out of the car, but ended up collapsing to the ground. Everything was still spinning and blood was starting to trail down his face from a cut over his left eye.

Luckily, no one was around him yet, but it wouldn't be too long. He pushed himself up from the ground, but immediately had to lean against his wrecked car. He shook his head a little to try and clear it, and then pushed off from his car. He was limping, his left leg shooting pain throughout his body with every step, but he made it to the dark alley next to him.

He made sure no one was looking his way before he went to the closest manhole and disappeared entirely.

* * *

It was a long walk back to TC; his left knee was messed up, his ribs, shoulder, head, pretty much everything hurt and everything was spinning. And to make everything worse, he was walking through the sewers.

He hated the sewers; his nose was too sensitive and he knew he'd smell this for at least a week. He had to go the long way around since they were still surrounded by the sector cops, and it was nearly an hour before he got to their tunnels. He'd never been happier to see this dump that he now called home.

He slowly climbed the ladder back up to the surface, and then started for Command. He needed to make sure his team made it back ok before he went to the Infirmary.

He barely managed to push open the door to Command, and the first person he saw was definitely not a comforting sight. Mole was looking at some papers, but he looked up when he walked in.

"What happened to you?" Mole asked gruffly. "You look like shit."

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Alec deadpanned back.

"Why isn't your ass in the Infirmary?"

"I'm headed there next," Alec quickly defended.

"Good, cause you smell like shit too," Mole said with a smirk. "Don't want you stinkin' up all of Command."

Alec scowled and then asked, "Did my team make it back?"

"Yeah. Everyone's unloadin' the truck now," Mole said, looking back at his papers.

Alec sort of nodded, but he could feel that he was about to lose his battle with consciousness. He tried to warn Mole, but he only made a small sound before his eyes slipped closed and he collapsed to the ground.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	4. Chapter 4

Max had to shake herself after patching Alec up in their bathroom. It was Alec for cryin' out loud. She shouldn't even care if he was half naked in their shared apartment. It was just surprising, that's all. She didn't like him, not like that.

It was nice though, sitting there and laughing with him. She couldn't remember ever doing that before. He did have a nice laugh…

No. She wouldn't start thinking about that. She liked Logan, even though they couldn't be together. Besides, her and Alec would never work; they just didn't get along. But maybe they could be friends.

 _Yes, friends is good._ Max thought to herself. _We need to be friends so we can run this place and can live together without killing one another._

She took a deep breath as she walked into the hallway, and then let it out in exasperation at seeing Rocky standing guard. She still couldn't shake him.

"Sounds like you two are getting along," Rocky said in amusement, having heard their argument earlier.

"Shut up…" Max grumbled. She led the way down the stairs, trying her best to ignore Rocky. She needed to go find Logan and talk to him. She didn't know what he wanted to talk about, but he'd been looking for her all day. Besides, he needed to get out of Terminal City soon since it was toxic to ordinaries.

She would be sad to see him go, but she would be happy that she didn't have to watch where she was going 24/7. She was so paranoid thanks to the virus. One little touch and Logan would die; definitely one reason to want him to stay away. That was something that Alec had a point on, and the reason she was in a fake relationship with Alec in the first place.

She had been fairly surprised that Alec had gone along with her idea, but she wasn't complaining. She had messed up though, going and talking to Logan and letting him look at her runes, and then again when she'd held his hand at the flag raising. She didn't want to give him hope when there wasn't any. At least, there wasn't any as long as the virus around.

Even if they didn't have the virus, Max didn't know what she and Logan would be. They had never really had the chance to try out a relationship. It had never been the right time, and then the virus happened and they didn't have a choice. If the virus was gone, Max still didn't know. That was something she really couldn't worry about right now though, with everything else going on.

"What do you think about Alec?" Max suddenly asked Rocky as they walked out of the building and across the pavement.

"You mean as a boyfriend, commander, or friend?" Rocky asked in amusement. Max glared at him, and he rolled his eyes and said more seriously, "He's a great commander. He knows what he's doing and he cares about his team. He's a great commander, but he's an even better friend," Max raised her eyebrows, intrigued, "We've been friends a long time and I know how loyal he is and how determined he is. You won't find a better friend out there."

Max started to smile at hearing the admiration that Rocky had for Alec. It was obvious in the way that he stood by Alec's orders, but she could clearly hear it in his voice too.

"And on that note," Rocky continued, "I don't know many friends who would give up their own love lives to pretend to be someone else's boyfriend just to help them out. I know you don't think of him like that, but maybe you should."

Max stared at Rocky in shock; she'd had no idea that he was going to say that.

"Just my opinion…since you asked," Rocky said with a small smile.

"Thanks…" Max said uncertainly. She hadn't expected him to answer her at all; it had been a kind of offhanded question that just popped out. At least one thing she knew for sure, if she asked Rocky something, he would answer honestly.

"So, where are we goin' now, Boss?" Rocky asked after a few minutes.

"I'm trying to find Logan…" Max answered distractedly. They had just walked into Command and she was looking around to find Logan.

"Oh great…" Rocky replied sarcastically.

Max shot him a quick glare, and then went back to scanning the room. She finally saw him sitting over by the bank of computers with Dix and Luke.

"Hey," Logan greeted with a smile as she walked over to him. He looked at Rocky in curiosity, but he didn't say anything about her bodyguard.

"Hey," Max replied, giving him a small smile in return. He was just looking at her like he wanted to grab her and hold on forever. She squirmed a little, under his gaze, uncomfortable with his intensity and asked, "So you were looking for me?"

Logan looked away and said, "Yeah, I wanted to ask how things were going?"

Max nodded a little, "Things are good…It's a lot of work getting this place up and running…"

"Yeah, I can see that…" There was an awkward silence after he said that until he asked, trying to sound casual, "Where's Alec?"

"He's at the apartment," Max answered shortly. She didn't say it was her apartment too; she didn't want to rub it in Logan's face. They weren't together, but she didn't want to be mean.

"Haven't seen him around here much…" Logan said slowly, almost hopefully.

"He's been really busy. He's been going on nonstop runs to get this place up and running," Max said, slightly defensive. It wasn't fair getting mad at Logan though, he didn't know how much Alec had been doing since they got there.

"Are you two still together?" Logan asked after a minute.

"Yes," Max replied. She had to keep the lie going so Logan didn't get his hopes up. She had to remember that.

"Be careful, Max," Logan suddenly said. "You know you can't really trust him…"

Max scowled, "What?!" She heard Rocky growl beside her, but she didn't take her eyes off of Logan. One thing she knew for sure was that she could trust Alec. She relied on him more than anyone else in TC and it was outrageous for Logan to say otherwise.

Logan held his hands up in surrender, realizing that he was in danger, "Sorry, I wasn't thinking when I said that."

"I think you should go," Max said shortly.

"Max," Logan tried to soothe.

"No, I think now is a good time for you to go," Max said again.

Logan looked like he'd just been kicked, but he didn't argue anymore. He slowly stood up, looking at her, hoping that she would change her mind, but she didn't. Back in the day, she would have agreed with him, had agreed with him. But now, even though it was less than a week, she knew Alec had pulled one over on her. She'd only seen what he had wanted her to see; he didn't want to let people in and she had accepted it.

She wouldn't anymore. Alec was her Second in Command now; if she was going to be the leader, then he was her Second. That was how it was going to be and she was the only one that could complain about him.

That sounded slightly possessive, but that's how she felt. She would have to tell him sometime that he was her Second, and make an announcement to everyone else. Though, everyone probably already knew that, now that she thought about it.

She relaxed a little once Logan was gone and she felt the entire room relax too. She shot a glance over at Rocky and saw that he was still tense and looked like he was ready to rip Logan a new one. If she ever needed someone loyal to Alec, she knew where to go.

She lightly placed her hand on Rocky's arm, "I hope you aren't thinking about going after him…"

"I am," Rocky replied shortly.

"Well, good thing you're my bodyguard, huh?" Max tried to distract him. Yeah, Logan pissed her off, but she didn't want to him dead because of it.

"Yeah, but you've been tryin' to get rid of me all day," Rocky argued. "I may just give you what you want for a few seconds…teach an ordinary a few things…"

"Alec wouldn't want you to and I don't want you to," Max reasoned quietly.

Rocky remained tense for just a few seconds longer, and then he slowly started to relax. He took a deep breath and his face cleared of all emotion.

"I apologize for overreacting, ma'am," Rocky said, standing at attention. "It won't happen again."

Max was shocked at his switching from her easygoing bodyguard, to someone seething with rage, and now to the obedient soldier. Her head was practically spinning with the change of emotions.

"Umm, it's ok," Max finally said. "It was no big deal…"

Rocky nodded once, but he didn't drop his soldier act. Max decided she would let him cool down a little before she tried to get him back to normal. She walked over to Rain and Jen who had just walked into Command.

She talked to them for a while about the apartment situations, but she wasn't totally focused on what they were saying. Rocky was standing beside her, practically at attention, but he didn't talk to anyone. Whenever Max stopped to talk to someone, he usually joked around or flirted with whoever she was talking to.

"You hungry?" Max asked Rocky after she was done talking to Rain and Jen.

"I will eat when you do, ma'am," Rocky replied.

"No more ma'am," Max said crossly.

"Yes sir?" Rocky asked, his eyebrows rising and a smile tugging at his lips.

Max scowled, "No. No ma'am or sir. It's Max."

Rocky couldn't stop his small smile this time and it was really good to see it. "Sure thing Boss."

Max groaned, but she didn't argue with him anymore. He had relaxed more and Max was pretty sure he was closer to how he normally was. She was going to have to watch out for that from now on.

She had only been at Manticore for a short time compared to the others, so she knew some of what they had been through, but not all of it. Manticore had really messed them up, and now she needed to find a way to help them. Not just Rocky, but all of them.

* * *

"And this is Joshua's room," Joshua said excitedly as he showed Max his new apartment.

She had gone to the Mess Hall with Rocky to eat, and then she decided to pay a visit to Joshua. She hadn't seen him in a while and she missed him. He had been so excited when she had knocked and he had immediately taken her on a tour.

"This is nice, Big Fella," Max said with a smile. Joshua had already started decorating his room and paint lined the walls. She would have to show Alec this when he got back since he had helped Joshua with his art at one time. He would probably enjoy this.

"Thanks Little Fella," Joshua happily replied. He moved on to the next room and said, "This is Mole's room…he's not around much."

"I've got him doing a lot for me right now," Max explained. "But once things calm down, he'll be around more."

"What about Alec? Where's Alec at?" Joshua asked.

"He went on another run, but I'm going to make sure he gets a break so he can come see you," Max said.

Joshua nodded happily, and then took her back to the living room where Rocky was standing, waiting for them. Joshua's apartment was laid out similarly to hers, but he had a lot of artwork in his. She was glad that he still got to do his artwork; it made him really happy.

Rocky suddenly brought his hand up to his ear; he'd gotten a com link from Command so he could get updates and so they could get ahold of Max if they needed her. Max met his eyes, silently asking him what was going on.

"Alec's team just got back with a truck full of mattresses," Rocky said with a smile.

Max smiled too, "That's great!"

"Alec did good?" Joshua asked.

"Yeah, Alec did really good," Max agreed.

"Should we go see how they're doing?" Rocky asked.

"Not yet, Joshua was going to show me some of his art," Max replied, and Joshua beamed. She smiled over at Rocky as Joshua pulled her over to all of his art.

She laughed as he demonstrated how he painted, twirling around and throwing his arms around. He got out a blank canvas and started throwing paint on it. He gave her a brush so she could throw paint on it too. She didn't think she'd ever had so much fun; she laughed and threw paint with Joshua until she was almost breathless.

She shot a glance over at Rocky to see if he was laughing at her, but he had his hand pressed to his ear again. He was frowning, and Max slowly dropped her arm to her side and turned to him. Joshua picked up that something had changed and stopped what he was doing too.

"Alec didn't come back with his team…" Rocky stated quietly.

Max's heart dropped and she breathed out, "What?"

"His team says that he didn't come back with them," Rocky said.

Max's first instinct was to run, but she needed to think reasonably about this. She couldn't freak out just yet, she didn't even know if there was a reason to freak out.

"Where's his team?" Max asked slowly, trying to remain calm.

"Unloading the truck a few buildings from here," Rocky replied.

"Let's go," Max said.

* * *

He wasn't with his team, but Max had already known that. Deep breaths. Just keep breathing. There was no reason to think anything was wrong. But at the same time, panic was trying to constrict her chest. She couldn't do this without him.

They hadn't even been here a week and already she knew she couldn't run this place without him.

"He's probably fine," Rocky tried to reassure, but he didn't sound like he believed it.

"He was being chased by cops and no one's heard from him," Max said, starting to pace. "It's been too long…"

"Just breathe and relax," Rocky said.

"Tell me what happened again," Max suddenly said, turning back to Alec's team.

A petite blonde, Sarah, stepped up and explained again, "He stole a car to try and get the cops off our tail. He cut them off and we turned the corner, and then we didn't see him again."

Max already knew this, but she didn't know what to do. Alec could be in trouble right now and she was stuck here, completely useless. She kept telling herself that she was only worried because he helped out so much and they were becoming friends. It was normal for friends to be worried about each other and it didn't have to be romantic. Even though they were in a fake relationship and people would expect her to be worried anyway.

This was so confusing. She couldn't help it either way; she was worried and she wouldn't stop worrying until he was back.

Rocky suddenly put his hand against his ear and Max's focus snapped to him. He listened for just a second, and then said, "Mole says Alec just walked into Command and collapsed."

That was all Max needed to hear. He was back and she took off running. Rocky was right behind her, but she barely noticed him. She ran through the building and into the next one to try and get to the Infirmary as fast as she could.

They were just bringing him in as she got there. Two people were carrying him on a stretcher; his eyes were closed and he was covered in dirt, grime, and blood. Max ran right up to him and grabbed his limp hand and held it to her chest. He didn't react at all to her invading his personal space.

"What happened?" She asked the two people standing there; she didn't even know their names.

Neither of them answered her though; they just shrugged, not knowing the answer themselves.

"I'll see if I can get Mole down here," Rocky suggested after a minute. "He's the one that talked to Alec."

Max just nodded her approval. She motioned for the other two people to go ahead and bring Alec inside and put him on a cot. She had to let go of his hand once they were in the room and let their main medic work on him.

Their main medic was just an X5 who had been a field medic back at Manticore. Everyone here just called him Doc, but Max had only met him once. He was pretty average looking for a transgenic, with brown hair and brown eyes, but he had a very calming presence.

As soon as he walked into the room, Max felt a little more relaxed. He walked over to them quickly, but at the same time, he didn't seem rushed. He just seemed to know what he was doing, and that helped calm Max's nerves.

"What happened?" Doc asked in a soft voice.

"He was late back from his supply run and Mole said he collapsed when he walked into Command," Max quickly replied.

Doc pulled his stethoscope from around his neck and put the ends in his ears and held the other end against Alec's chest. He listened for a minute, and then motioned for one of the people around him to grab something.

They grabbed a tray of different things and held it for Doc. He grabbed the scissors and easily cut Alec's shirt off of him. His side was covered in dark bruises that Max had seen that morning, but now there seemed to be even more. The bandage on his shoulder was completely soaked in blood and blood was starting to seep under the edges and down his side.

"What do you want Princess?" Mole suddenly asked.

Max barely turned her head to see him standing in the doorway near Rocky.

"What happened?" Max asked.

"He walked into Command, and then collapsed," Mole said simply.

"Did he say anything?" Doc's quiet voice asked before Max could.

"He asked about his team," Mole replied. "He looked pretty beat up, but he acted just like he usually did until he collapsed."

Doc nodded once, and then looked back to his patient. He had made up an IV and had stuck the needle in one of Alec's veins in his arm. Max was on his right side, so she grabbed his right hand in hers. It was mostly his left side that was hurt anyway, so she didn't think she would have to move.

"Any idea what happened out there?" Max asked after a minute.

"Dix is pulling up any footage he can find," Mole replied. "So far it looks like he outran three cops, who took a turn too fast and crashed. Somehow, his own car must have wrecked because it smells like and looks like he walked through the sewers."

"Ok," Max said back, but she didn't say anything else. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mole and Rocky exchange a look, and then Mole left the room.

Doc worked on him for a while, but Max didn't know how bad it was. Doc stitches up the cut over Alec's eye and his bullet wound. He listened to Alec breathe a few times which worried her.

"Is he breathing all right?" Max asked when Doc turned Alec to his side and put the stethoscope against his back.

"I'm just making sure he didn't puncture a lung," Doc answered slowly.

"You can't tell?"

"He sounds alright, but he has a few broken ribs and I'm afraid they might shift…I don't know how bad the breaks really are or if there are any bone fragments floating around…I don't have the equipment to make absolutely sure…" Doc muttered. He laid Alec on his back again, and then looked up at Max, "You might want to leave for this…I have to get his pants off and check his legs…"

Max shook her head no; there was no way she was budging. Doc looked over to Rocky to see if he could help, but he just said, "I go where she goes."

Doc shrugged, and then worked at carefully getting Alec out of his pants. It was a little funny that just that morning Max had yelled at Alec for being practically naked around her, and now she was refusing to leave when he was going to be practically the same.

Max almost gasped when she saw his left knee; it was already swollen and surrounded by bruises. It didn't seem possible that he'd been able to walk on it at all.

Doc checked his knee for a few minutes, and then said, "Nothing's broken, but it's very badly strained from what I can tell. I'll know more when he wakes up, but for now all I can do is keep an eye on him."

Max nodded, figuring that would be the case.

"But I think he'll be ok," Doc said soothingly. "He's just going to need rest, that's all. Let his body heal some."

"Thanks Doc," Max said sincerely. He nodded back, and then walked away from Alec to give her some privacy. She stayed where she was, holding Alec's hand in hers until everyone was gone except for her, Alec, and Rocky. She knew the others hadn't gone too far; they would be able to hear her if something happened.

Max suddenly felt something at the back of her knees and she looked up in surprise to see that Rocky had brought a chair over for her. She sat down and shot him a grateful smile, but was surprised again when he brought another chair over and sat next to her.

"I go where you go, remember?" Rocky said quietly.

Max felt tears fill her eyes, but she quickly tried to blink them away. Now she was so grateful that Alec had assigned Rocky to her. He wouldn't leave her, and now she wouldn't be alone, waiting for Alec to wake up.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry for the long delay! But I finally got to write again so here you go!_

* * *

Alec couldn't feel his right hand when he started to wake up. He remembered collapsing in command, and then nothing. It felt like he'd been asleep for a long time, but he couldn't be sure. He slowly started testing his muscles, but his eyes remained closed.

His whole left side hurt, but his left knee hurt the worst. But he hadn't really tried moving yet, and that was going to make everything hurt more. Alec tried to move his right arm since he knew his right side wasn't as sore, but it was stuck. Something was keeping his arm down.

Alec's heart started to race in panic. He was being restrained which meant he wasn't where he thought he was. He wouldn't be restrained in TC, which meant he needed to escape wherever he was. His first instinct was to immediately break free of his restraints and fight his way out of there, but that was a bad idea.

He was hurt and he didn't know how many people were around him or in the room next to his or even where he was being held. He couldn't just come out swinging; it would be a good surprise attack, but he didn't want to let everyone know he was ready to fight.

And who's to say he could even fight through them all? He had no idea how swollen his knee was going to be, but he was going to have to ignore that and broken ribs and either sneak his way out of there or fight for his freedom.

He slowed his breathing again so it still seemed like he was sleeping; he didn't want them to know he was awake. He strained his hearing to try and figure out if he was alone in the room. He could hear someone's slow even breathing signaling that someone was sleeping on the job. That was good news. But there was another set of breathing that was shallower, actually alert. That was going to be a problem. Why couldn't it have been just the one sleeping guard? Things were never that easy though.

He figured he could take the alert guard out, but that would make some noise and wake up the other guard. If he didn't manage to keep the fighting quiet then more guards would be on the way. Hopefully there was a window around him that he could just hop out of and make an easy escape.

Alec was just about to jump into action when the restraint on his arm seemed to move. That was strange. A second later, something soft fell on his arm and a sweet smell drifted up to his nose. It was Max's shampoo.

Alec opened his eyes in surprise at smelling something familiar. He was shocked to see that he actually was still in TC, not restrained somewhere that he needed to escape from. But what was even more surprising was that his restraint was actually Max, asleep on his arm.

Her mouth was slightly open and a piece of hair had fallen over her face. He smiled a little at seeing her like this; it was a softer side that he didn't get to see much. Even though it hurt, he brought his left hand up and barely brushed Max's hair back, off of her face. He tucked the strand of hair behind her ear, and then slowly ran his fingers through her silky hair.

"The Hero finally awakes," a low voice murmured softly. Alec shifted his focus off of Max, but kept his hand in Max's hair. He'd forgotten about the other person in the room, but he relaxed again once he saw that it was Rocky.

"What are you doing here?" Alec asked, his voice was rough but he ignored that.

"I'm doing my job," Rocky said with a smile and a glance at Max.

"How long have you guys been here?" Alec asked, looking back at Max sleeping on him.

"As long as you've been here," Rocky replied with a smirk.

Alec tried his best to glare back at him and deadpanned, "Thanks that was so helpful…"

Rocky shrugged, "I do what I can."

"For real, how long have I been here?"

"Over a day," Rocky finally answered. "But Doc thinks you're gonna live, so congratulations."

Alec just nodded back to Rocky. He was already getting a little tired, but he also wanted to sit up. But then again, he didn't want to disturb Max since she looked so peaceful and he thought moving might be a bad idea. His ribs and his bullet wound were starting to throb and sitting up would just irritate it more.

He still had his left hand in Max's hair; he was running the silky strands through his fingers, relaxing at the repetitive motion.

"She was really worried about you," Rocky said softly after a few minutes. Alec nodded again, but kept his focus on Max. She had a cute little nose that he'd never really noticed before and the smoothest skin he'd ever seen. And her lips! Her lips were so full, Alec just wanted to-

No. He couldn't think like that. This was Max and she didn't even like him; she barely even tolerated him. Besides, they fought too much to be in a real relationship. But he couldn't deny that Max was hot. No, she was more than that; she was beautiful, gorgeous even. Any man would be lucky to be with her.

Alec had to shake himself to stop thinking about that. He and Max just had a working relationship and that was all. There would be nothing more to it, and when Max was done with him, he would have to just let her go.

Max's head turned on his arm again. He knew she was starting to wake up, but he really didn't want to move his hand from her hair. He sighed after a second, though, and moved his hand to rest on his chest.

"Alec?" Max mumbled sleepily. She sat up a little and Alec instantly felt the loss of her warmth.

"Hey sleepyhead," Alec teased.

She frowned and shot back, "Hey, I'm not the one who slept for a whole day."

Alec rolled his eyes, "I thought you said you had shark DNA and didn't need to sleep."

"I do have shark DNA, but that doesn't mean that I never sleep at all!" Max argued.

Alec brought his arm up that Max had been sleeping on and tried to make a fist. His fingers were tingling thanks to Max cutting off the blood flow. "Jeez, your head must way a ton," Alec said with a small smirk. Max shot him a glare; it was the glare that she saved especially for him. He knew this because she gave him that look all the time.

Alec suddenly put on a look of disgust and pretended to wipe drool from his arm. "Eww Max. I know I'm good lookin', but did you really have to drool over me?"

Max looked appalled, and then grabbed his arm to look for the evidence. She didn't find any since he had made it up. She lightly smacked his shoulder, but she couldn't hide her small smile. "You're a jerk," she said with amusement. "And you really think anyone would drool over you lookin' like this?"

"Oh, don't even pretend that you don't think I'm good lookin'," Alec replied with a cocky smile.

"Ugh, enough," Rocky cut in. "Alec, you look like shit. Max, you still can't resist him. Now, please stop talking about it."

Alec couldn't help but chuckle, which was a mistake. He winced at the pain of his ribs and tried to curl on his side, but that was another mistake. His entire left side hurt and he had to close his eyes and clench his jaw against the pain.

There was a sudden dip in his bed by his right hip and he knew Max was sitting next to him. She pressed on his right shoulder to try and get him to lay flat again, but he fought against her.

"Alec," Max soothed, trying to get him to focus on something else. She suddenly brushed her fingers through his short hair and tried again, "Alec, that's just going to make it worse."

He knew that already, but he couldn't help it, it was just instinct. Max's touch was helping though; her fingers were like magic, calming him again and soothing his nerves. Her fingers stroked through his hair a few times, and then went down around his ear to his neck. She stopped with her hand resting on his chest and he slowly started to uncurl.

"That's it Alec, just relax," Max said softly. She moved her hand off of his chest and brushed his hair off of his forehead. Her hand moved down against his cheek and he finally opened his eyes. Her hair was falling over her shoulder and she was looking at him with concern. "You ok?"

"Just great," Alec muttered sarcastically.

"Well, that's what you get for driving like a crazy person," Max accused. Alec frowned in confusion; how did she know what happened? Max answered though, before he could ask, "Dix found a video of what happened. Next time, will you please pay more attention once you've gotten free?"

"Max, it wasn't a big deal," Alec tried to brush off, but Max just kept up her determined look so Alec sighed. "Fine, next time I'll pay more attention."

"Good," Max replied with a victorious smile.

"Hey! Look who finally decided to wake up," Doc suddenly said with a smile. He had just walked in and had instantly seen that Alec was awake.

"Hey Doc," Alec replied. He'd already been in the Infirmary enough because of minor injuries of his own and bringing others here so he was pretty comfortable around Doc.

"How're you feeling?" Doc asked, coming around the bed to Alec's left side.

"I'm alright," Alec said as Doc checked his breathing.

"That sounded almost believable," Doc said with a chuckle. He pulled back the blanket over him and checked his bullet wound and his ribs. "Looks like you're finally starting to heal…" he muttered distractedly.

Doc moved the blanket off of his left leg, which was propped up with a pillow, and Alec grimaced at how swollen his knee was. "You're going to have to stay off of your leg for a few days at least," Doc said, seeing Alec's look. "I don't know how you even managed to make it back on that leg."

"I'm just stubborn," Alec replied. He didn't like that he'd be stuck here for a few days. He hated hospitals, and even though this wasn't like normal hospitals or the Infirmary back at Manticore, he still didn't like it.

"I already knew that," Doc replied with a smile. "With as much as you've been here, I should know that anyway."

Alec smiled, and then said, "Not that I don't like ya Doc, but, when can I get out of here?"

Doc laughed, "If I let you out of here, I'll just be seein' you again in a day or so. I don't think you know how to sit still."

"I can sit still," Alec immediately argued. Max snorted in disbelief and Alec shot a quick glare at her, but she just smiled back.

She took pity on him a moment later and asked Doc, "If I take him home and stay with him, will you release him?" Alec looked at her in disbelief, and then looked at Doc to see what he would decide.

Doc thought for a few seconds, and then finally, he slowly nodded, "If anyone could make him rest, it'd be you…Alright, I'll release him. But he has to stay off of that leg and he has to come see me before he's cleared for any more runs."

Max looked at him to see if he would agree to these conditions, but it was no question for him. "Deal," he immediately replied.

"Ok," Max said, and then turned to Rocky. "Get someone from Command to bring some clothes and have someone update me about crutches."

Rocky nodded, and then stood up and went to the hallway to talk to Command. Doc gave him a look that clearly told him that he better take it easy, and then started walking back to his office. "Let me know when you're ready to leave," he called over his shoulder before he went inside.

It was quiet for a few minutes until Max said, "You're welcome."

"I didn't say thank you," Alec replied.

"I know you didn't, which is why I'm reminding you," Max said with a smug smile. "It's thanks to me that you're getting out of here."

Alec's eyebrows rose in amusement and he asked, "What makes you think I needed your help?" She looked at him in disbelief so he said, "If that hadn't worked, I was just going to sneak out of here."

"Really?" Max asked, this time she was the one that sounded amused. "You think you could've snuck out of here?"

"I know I could have," Alec replied seriously, but then he smirked, "I can prove it too."

Max laughed a little as he started to get out of bed. She stopped him though, and pressed lightly on his shoulder to get him to lie down again. "Alec, don't prove it, I believe you."

He smiled at her and said, "Good." Her eyes were bright and she was smiling at him, and even though he knew he could have gotten out of here without her help, it was still nice that she had helped him. Alec reached out and put his hand over hers and her focus went down to their hands. "Thank you," Alec said softly.

She looked up from their hands in surprise and she gave him a small smile. She turned her hand over under his, and then lightly squeezed his hand. He squeezed hers back, taking comfort in the contact.

They both jumped apart when Rocky suddenly came back in, "Clothes are on the way, but still no sign of any crutches…" He looked at them both in surprise, and then chuckled, "Sorry, I didn't realize I was interrupting a moment. I can leave and come back if you'd like?"

"No, that's ok," Max quickly replied. "We might need your help in a minute."

Rocky smiled like he knew something that they didn't, but he didn't say anything else. He just nodded and stood by the end of the bed.

Dalton walked in a few minutes later, carrying some clothes for him.

"Hey Dalton," Alec greeted with a smile. Ever since the Jam Pony incident, Dalton had tagged along with Alec every chance he could. Alec really liked the kid and he was going to start training him to go on runs as soon as he had a chance.

"Hey Alec," Dalton said happily. "You feelin' better?"

"Yeah, I just needed some sleep is all," Alec easily replied. He didn't want to cause the kid anymore worry. Dalton nodded, and then hopped up to sit on the end of the bed. "You have an update for me?"

Dalton nodded again, "Almost everyone's got an apartment now. Mole keeps grumbling because you put him with Joshua. Carter's team found some more food, but the other teams haven't had much luck. And your team refuses to go back out until you come back."

"What?" Alec asked, sitting up slightly. "They haven't gone back out?"

Dalton shook his head, "Carter said that he would take them out, but they refused. They said they would wait for you to get back or order them to go with someone else."

"You gotta be kidding me…" Alec muttered. "Ok, once I'm back at the apartment find Lucky. I'll talk some sense into him to get them back out there."

"Ok…" Dalton replied, but he sounded like he didn't think that would work.

"Thanks Dalton," Alec said as Dalton hopped off of his bed again, leaving the clothes and starting for the door.

"See ya later," Dalton called back.

Alec picked up the t-shirt and pulled it on over his head. It was easy to get his right arm in the sleeve, but it was harder to get his left arm in it. Max's hands were suddenly there, guiding his arm into his sleeve.

"Y'know, you could ask for help sometimes," Max muttered.

"That's almost funny coming from you," Alec replied, grabbing the sweatpants and throwing the blanket completely off of him. He got the sweatpants mostly on, but then he needed to stand up.

Max rolled her eyes and went over to his left side to give him support to stand. Alec put his right foot on the ground and tried to put all of his weight on it to stand. He had to reach out though, and put his hand on Max's shoulder for balance. She wrapped her arm around his waist as he carefully pulled the sweatpants the rest of the way on.

He almost groaned when he remembered that he needed to put on at least one shoe. Max must have felt him tense because she shot a quick look at him to see what was wrong. He looked at his boots that were sitting on the floor at the end of the bed and she followed his gaze, and then looked back at him.

She made him sit on the edge of the bed then she grabbed his right shoe and put it on for him. He let her help him since he was starting to wear out.

"You sure you don't want to stay here for a little while longer?" Max asked after a moment, sensing that he was losing energy fast.

"I'm sure," Alec replied, forcing himself back up.

"Ok," Max said, standing up with him and pulling his arm over her shoulders. Then she called out, "Doc! We're leaving!"

Doc poked his head out of his office and said, "Alright, see you guys soon. Make sure you rest!"

Max nodded, and then they started hobbling toward the door with Rocky close beside them.

* * *

"Why did I do this?" Alec grumbled as they hopped up another flight of stairs. They were only on the second floor and they had another two floors to go.

"Oh yeah," Max said, "I forgot you were the one who assigned us to the top floor."

"Big mistake that I highly regret," Alec said, slightly breathless.

"I could still carry you," Rocky offered again.

"No," Alec refused.

"It would be faster," Max pointed out.

"No," Alec said again.

There was no way he was letting anyone carry him. Besides, they only had one more floor now to get up. Alec couldn't wait to get back in bed, or he might skip the bed since the sofa was closer.

"Rocky, you can take a break now," Max said as they reached the top floor.

"I'll be right next door if you need me," Rocky replied, shooting them both one last look before going into his own apartment.

Max unlocked their door and they hopped inside. Alec tried to hop over to the sofa, but Max wouldn't allow it. She drug him back to the rooms, but she hesitated outside of the first one.

"Mine's the other room…" Alec muttered.

"Oh, who cares," Max replied, opening her door and taking him inside. She brought him over to the bed and took off his one shoe before she pulled the covers back so he could lie down. She left the room for a moment, and then came back with another pillow that she propped his leg up on. "Do you need anything?"

Alec shook his head as he leaned back on his elbows and eased himself down against the pillow. He almost instantly started to drift off, but before he was completely out he heard Max say, "I'll be here if you need anything." He fell asleep with a small smile on his face.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	6. Chapter 6

Alec slept too much, that's what Max decided. He was sleeping now, which is what he'd been doing for the past four hours and Max was bored! She could only watch someone sleep for so long! And she couldn't take another nap since she wasn't tired thanks to her little nap earlier.

It hadn't been the most comfortable way to sleep, but it had helped reassure her that he was going to be ok. She had thought she felt something brushing through her hair while she slept, but when she woke up nothing was there. She must have imagined the feeling, but it felt nice either way.

Max had watched Alec sleep for a while, but nothing had been wrong. He'd been sleeping peacefully when she'd gotten bored and decided to search the apartment. But that hadn't been a long search since it was a small apartment and they didn't have very many things. Then she was bored again.

She tried to watch TV, but that didn't hold her interest like it did for Alec. She didn't know how he could sit and watch TV as much as he did, but whatever.

She was sitting on the sofa now, but the TV was off so she could hear Alec in the other room. She didn't want to miss it if he needed something.

The bed suddenly creaked in the room next door, drawing Max's attention. She waited a moment, but he seemed to settle back in and she relaxed again.

She kept telling herself that she was only this worried about him because they seemed to be friends now. They had to be friends in these circumstances, but she found she liked being around him. He always knew how to make her smile and she knew he had her back no matter what. She was starting to think that she'd judged him too harshly before and now she wanted to fix that. She needed to get to know him better so they could get along, but she also _wanted_ to get to know him better.

The bed creaked again and it seemed like maybe he was finally waking up. She wanted to go in there and see if he needed help, but she didn't want to push him. He needed his space and she didn't want him to push her away.

The bed started creaking more, and Max imagined that he was getting up. She waited for the door to open, but it never did. Instead, she heard him take in a sharp breath that had her blurring to the door. She got there just in time to see him start to lose his balance and she quickly ran forward.

"I'm curious, how far did you think you were going to get?" Max asked as she wrapped one arm around him and put her other hand against his chest.

"You do know I made it all the way back on my own, right?" Alec shot back defensively.

"I know," Max replied easily. "Which is probably why your knee is so messed up."

"Did you just come in here to lecture me?" Alec asked with a scowl. "Cause if so, the door's over there."

Max sighed, "Alec, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to lecture you…"

"Sure seems like it…" Alec grumbled. He sounded like he was five and Max really wanted to point that out, but at the same time she didn't want to start fighting again.

"What were you trying to do anyway?" Max asked after a moment.

"Oh, you know, I was going to see if anyone wanted to start up a secret fight club." Max couldn't help scowling back at him in annoyance. "What do you think, Max?! I wanted to go to the bathroom!"

"Oh…" Max replied with a guilty look.

"So…you gonna let me go or what?" Alec asked with a quick glance to her hand on his chest.

"You've gotta stay off of your leg, remember?" Max replied. "Doc's orders…"

Alec just rolled his eyes, but he let her help him to the bathroom. He started to pull away from her once they were there, but she tightened her grip.

Alec raised his eyebrows curiously, "You wanna join me?"

"I'm just here for support," Max shot back crossly.

Alec rolled his eyes again and hopped inside the tiny bathroom. He was completely unconcerned that she was there with him. She had to quickly avert her eyes a second later to avoid an uncomfortable moment.

He finished and washed his hands and Max expected that they would leave now, but they didn't. Instead, he surprised her by pulling his shirt off, over his head.

He started to slip off his sweatpants when Max asked, "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" Alec asked in amusement. She just looked back at him so he said, "I'm taking a shower Max, so if you still want to stay, feel free…"

Max didn't really want to stay, but she couldn't just leave him either. She didn't feel comfortable with him hopping over the edge of the tub and onto the slick floor. He quickly undressed completely and Max reached around him and turned on the water.

Max couldn't help her wandering eyes as she stood next to him. They traveled over his bare chest; he really was quite good looking, toned just right, but still agile. Her eyes started going lower, seemingly of their own accord until- Oh my God! Too far! She looked away as fast as she could, but she'd already seen.

"I feel violated," Alec suddenly muttered.

Max's cheeks instantly flamed in embarrassment and she rushed out, "Alec…Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I don't know what I was doing!"

"It's ok. I know I'm irresistible," Alec replied with a smirk. He seemed completely indifferent with what just happened.

"I really didn't mean to," Max tried to explain.

"It really is ok. Just, try to control yourself for a few days still before you jump my bones," Alec said. "That way I can really show you what you're missin'."

Max's scowled, "I've had sex before!"

"Sure," Alec agreed. "But not with me…" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Max looked at him in disbelief, "You really think you're that good, huh?"

"I can prove it," Alec replied lowly, his voice bringing goosebumps out on her skin. She imagined what it would be like with him for just a second, and the thought alone had her eyes closing in pleasure.

She shook it off though and said, "You're a pig."

Alec's eyes narrowed and he suddenly looked angry with her. "I didn't ask for your help, Max," he practically growled.

She bristled at his tone and threw back, "Too bad, 'cause you're getting it anyway!"

"No kidding," Alec replied, rolling his eyes.

She glared at him, and then almost forced him into the tub. The only reason he needed help was because their stupid shower was one of those showers in a tub. She'd accidently looked at him and now she was yelling at him. Why did it always come down to her yelling at him?

She must have given away what she was feeling because a moment later Alec tried to patch things up.

"Y'know, this would be a lot sexier if you would join me…" Alec suggested.

Max glared at him, but at the same time she was fighting off a smile. "Dream on Alec," she replied.

"Oh c'mon, it's only fair," Alec said. She looked at him curiously so he explained, "You've seen me naked, now it's my turn."

She actually laughed this time and Alec gave her a small smile back.

"Max," he said after a moment. He waited until she met his gaze before he said, "This is going to be really hard, now that you've seen me and all, but you're gonna have to try not to jump me every time you see me, ok? I've got a lot to do and I can't be pleasuring you every two seconds."

"Oh you've got to be kidding," Max said, rolling her eyes and lightly hitting his shoulder. "I think I'll be able to control myself."

He suddenly threw on a wicked grin and Max took a step back, but she was too late. Alec reached up and turned the shower head so it pointed right at her, soaking her instantly.

"Alec!"

"C'mon Max! You've gotta join me now!" Alec replied with a laugh.

"I'm gonna get you back for this!" Max threated, but she was laughing too.

"Bring it," Alec challenged. He waited for a second to see what she would do, but she just looked back at him, and then he turned the shower head back onto himself. He closed his eyes and ducked his head under the water to get his hair wet. He brought his head back up after a moment and let the water just hit his face and he let out a soft sigh. "This feels so good," Alec breathed out.

"We tried to get most of the blood of off you, but we couldn't get it all," Max said, just so she could say something.

Alec nodded, but then cracked one eye open to glance at her, "Y'know, since there's usually not a lot of hot water, you should really take a shower now…"

"You're not gonna give up, are you?" Max asked in amusement.

"You could just give in," Alec replied.

"Not a chance," Max replied sweetly.

Alec just shook his head and ducked his head under the water again. Max sat on the closed toilet seat and waited for him to get done. Even though he seemed to enjoy the shower, he still kept it short. She didn't know if it was because of Manticore training or because he was tired of standing on one leg and needed to finish up.

Max got up and grabbed a towel so he could dry off a little. He took the towel from her and rubbed it through his hair before he wrapped it around his waist. She held out her hand to help support him as he hopped out of the tub.

Max sat Alec on the toilet seat she'd just left, and then she ran to his room to get him some fresh clothes and to change her own. She was only gone a second, but she stopped in the doorway once she was back. Alec was gingerly stretching out his injured leg, but he winced when he moved it too far.

"Alec, is there anything I can do?" Max asked softly.

Alec smirked, "You could kiss it, make it better…"

Max rolled her eyes, but slowly started towards him. "I don't actually think it works like that…"

Alec shrugged, "We could still try it…"

Max shook her head, but she was smiling in amusement. "I think instead, it's time for more resting!"

Alec groaned, "Max…"

"C'mon, it'll be fun," Max said as she pulled him to his feet, or foot more accurately. "We'll sit and watch TV all day. We can even invite people over if you want to…it'll be super fun…"

"I think we have very different ideas of what fun is…" Alec replied with a small smirk.

She handed him his boxers and said, "Fine, no people…we'll just have a day off-just the two of us…"

"That sounds a little better," Alec replied with a chuckle, pulling on the fresh pair of sweatpants. He sat down again once he was done, suddenly looking exhausted.

"Alec?" Max asked in concern, reaching out and putting her hand against his shoulder. He was a little warmer than a transgenic should be which made Max start to reconsider getting him out of the Infirmary.

"I'm fine, Max," Alec reassured, practically reading her mind. He sounded tired too, but then he switched over to anger, feeling uncomfortable with the attention, and said, "Would you stop worrying and leave me alone?"

"I'm so sorry that I'm trying to take care of you!" Max replied hotly, tossing her hair over her shoulder and storming out of the bathroom. She knew she sounded ridiculous, but Alec was stubborn and wouldn't accept her help unless he thought it would make her feel better. She didn't know if this would work for sure, but she thought it might. At least, she hoped it would.

"Max," Alec called out softly from the bathroom a few seconds later. Max stayed where she was in the hallway though and waited for him to say something else. "I'm sorry, ok?" She still didn't move or say anything and she heard Alec sigh. "Will you please come back here?...I would really appreciate it if you'd help me…"

He sounded like he was forcing the words past his lips, but it was good enough for her. She slowly walked back to the bathroom and stood in the doorway. He looked a little pitiful sitting on the toilet seat without a shirt on. His bruised side looked even worse in the harsh light of the bathroom and Max didn't think sitting like that could be very comfortable.

"I'd get on my knees and beg, but…" Alec said, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"No," Max instantly refuted. "Don't do that." She moved until she was crouched in front of him, and then asked quietly, "Will you stop fighting me and just rest?"

"Sure Max," Alec said in tired defeat. He ducked his head down so she couldn't see his eyes, and she suddenly wanted to just let him do whatever he wanted, just as long as he would stop acting like she just kicked his puppy.

But she had to stand her ground. She needed him to heal and get back to 100% to go on runs again. She needed him by her side to run this place. "It'll be fun," Max tried to persuade.

"Do I get to pick what we watch?" Alec asked, his head still down.

"Sure," Max easily agreed.

Alec's head suddenly popped up and he shot her a wide smile, "Great, then help me up." Her mouth popped open in shock; he'd played her! "Before you get mad, just remember that you started it."

"I did not!" Max argued.

"Yes you did, and you know it," Alec replied. "But now we both win. You get to hang out with me all day, and I get to watch whatever I want."

Max took a deep breath, and then let it out in a huff. She wanted to be mad at him for manipulating her, but she'd done the same thing to him, so she couldn't be mad. At least she did get her way with one thing, and she really didn't care what was on TV, so it wasn't so bad.

She helped him up and together they moved to the living room where she sat him on the sofa. She went back to her room and grabbed a pillow and a blanket before she went back to the living room. She saw he had eased himself back to lay across the sofa when she walked into the room.

She realized too late that she'd left his t-shirt in the bathroom, and she immediately turned to go back.

"Just leave it, Max," Alec said. "Unless I'm making you uncomfortable…" She could hear the smile in his voice and she knew she shouldn't get riled up.

"No, I'm not uncomfortable," Max replied simply. She wasn't, she really wasn't she kept telling herself. She was just in the apartment alone, with a very good looking guy, that she was in a fake relationship with, who was half naked in the apartment they shared. No problem at all. Maybe uncomfortable was the wrong word.

She moved around the sofa, but she could tell that he didn't believe her. She ignored him though and gently propped his knee up with a pillow. She draped the blanket over him, and then went up by his head.

He had his eyes closed, so he didn't see as she suddenly lifted his shoulders up, and then sat down. His eyes flew open in surprise, but he didn't say anything as she settled him again only this time in her lap instead of the cushion.

She ignored his gaze and reached for the TV remote. "What do you want to watch?"

"Umm…just put it on a movie," Alec replied distractedly. "Max, what are you doing?"

"I'm sitting," Max said, still refusing to look at him.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Alec asked suspiciously, she could feel his intense gaze on her.

She tried to ignore the question, but his gaze never wavered. She finally sighed and met his bright green eyes, "I'm trying to start over…" Alec's eyebrows rose in a silent question so she explained, "I never gave you a chance before…and I'm sorry…"

"It's ok Max," Alec replied, he looked away from her and muttered, "I wouldn't have liked me either…"

"Alec…" Max said softly, putting the remote down and resting one hand against his chest and running her other hand through his hair. He closed his eyes and a small smile formed as he relaxed under her touch. He seemed to like this as much as she did; it must be a cat thing. "I judged you too soon and I was wrong, I'm sorry," Max whispered.

"It's ok Maxie…" Alec mumbled. He turned his face a little more towards her stomach. She leaned over and very lightly kissed his forehead. He opened one eye and looked at her suspiciously, "Who are you and what have you done with the real Max?"

She hit him lightly on his chest and replied, "Shut up…"

"That's more like it," Alec said, closing his eyes again and snuggling down, further against her.

She kept her hand in his hair even after she thought he was asleep. She reached for the remote with the hand that she had had on his chest and started flipping through the channels.

"Don't you dare change the channel," Alec grumbled without opening his eyes. She hadn't even switched the channel yet.

"You're not even watching," Max accused.

"You said I get to pick," Alec reminded her. "And I like what's on right now."

"Just go back to sleep," Max said with a small smile. She thought she heard him grumble something that sounded suspiciously like 'control freak' but she couldn't be sure. He did go back to sleep though and Max got to flip through the channels like she wanted. She ended up just putting it back on Alec's movie though since nothing was on.

It was probably two hours later when there was a light knock on the door. Max looked down at Alec, who hadn't woken up at the noise, and then back to the door. She didn't want to get up since that would wake Alec up, but she didn't want to yell for them to come in either. She decided to just wait; if it was really urgent they would either knock again or just walk in.

There was another light knock, but Max stayed where she was. She kept her eyes on Alec to make sure he was going to sleep through this.

The door opened just a crack and Rocky suddenly appeared. A knowing smile crossed his face and Max just glared back at him.

"We're just friends," Max hissed in defense. "And this was the only way I could get him to rest." Rocky's smile just widened and Max bristled. "What do you want anyway?"

"I'm just checking in," Rocky whispered. "I got bored sitting in my apartment so I thought I'd see what you two lovebirds were doing. Although, now that I say that out loud, it sounds kinda weird…you coulda been doin' anything, and no offense, I love you both, but I don't wanna see that."

Max rolled her eyes and then said, "Are you staying or what?"

Rocky shrugged and walked inside, closing the door behind him. He grabbed a chair and sat down near the sofa. "So, how's he doin'?" Rocky asked after a minute.

"He's ok…" Max slowly replied. "Definitely been better…"

"He looks ok right now," Rocky said with a smirk. Max didn't say anything in reply and they just watched TV together. She didn't really know what it was that they were watching, but it was some boxer guy getting his asked kicked a lot and who didn't really speak very well. It was pre-pulse and Max wasn't really following what was going on. Rocky seemed to like it anyway.

"Hey, I know what this is," Rocky suddenly said with a wide smile. Max looked at him curiously so he said, "This is my movie! It's the guy I was named after!"

"What?" Max asked in confusion. "This guy? On the movie? Who named you?"

"Yeah, the dude's name is Rocky, obliviously. Alec named me; he watches a lot of TV and really liked this movie. I didn't have an actual name when I got to TC, but Alec took care of that when he assigned me. Said he was a tough guy like me that never gave up, no matter what."

"Alec named you?" Max breathed out. "Did you know each other from Manticore?"

Rocky nodded, "We went on a few missions together, he was under cover to get close to some higher ups and I was his guard. We saved each other more times than I can remember and we even became friends even though we were in different units. He did something crazy though, that I'll never forget. It's one of the reasons why I'll do anything he tells me to."

"What was it?"

"He took the fall for me. I screwed up one of the missions and he took the blame. He went to psy-ops for two months after that and I never saw him again. Then we all escaped and a few months later, here we are," Rocky finished with a smile.

Max looked down and smiled at Alec, brushing his hair to the side. She'd never heard of anyone doing that at Manticore. She hadn't been there as long as the others, but her unit was different than the others. Hers was a family, but everyone else was every man for themselves. Someone taking the fall for a mission gone wrong was unheard of. Everyone knew there would be consequences for failure.

"So, that's why you're never gettin' rid of me," Rocky said. "Alec deserves my loyalty, and I'll follow him to the end."

Max smiled even more and actually started watching the movie. She was learning something new about her Second all the time, and it just made her think about him in a new light. She was really starting to like Alec.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	7. Chapter 7

Alec held his crutches in one hand and clung to the railing with his other as he hopped down the stairs. He had woken up still partially on top of Max, but he was starting to feel a lot better. Crutches had been sent up to their apartment a few hours ago and Alec had wanted to test them out and get out of the apartment, but Max had refused. She thought he needed to 'rest' some more.

She was supposed to be keeping an eye on him, but something urgent had come in from Command, so she left with Rocky. Alec had sat around maybe 10 minutes before he decided to go after her. No one was there to tell him he couldn't and now he had the crutches so Max had to be expecting it.

He hopped off of the last step and got his crutches in position. He hated that he had to use them, but Max was actually right about one thing; if he wanted to heal, then he needed to stay off of his bad leg. Technically, he was still doing what she sorta said; he was staying off of his bad leg even though he wasn't staying in the apartment.

Alec started heading towards Command where he figured Max would be. Even though Alec had picked an apartment that was closest to Command, it was still a good walk over there. He was going to wear out pretty fast thanks to having to hop around everywhere, but he couldn't stay in the apartment any longer. Especially since Max wasn't there to distract him.

It was so fun to get her riled up and she never ceased to surprise him. He never would have imagined that she would stay in the bathroom while he showered, and he had to admit, it was a little difficult to keep himself under control. If he'd had his way, he would've had a much more entertaining shower. But Manticore had taught them well; he could control himself under any circumstances.

Besides, he didn't want it to be that way with Max; he didn't want to force her to do something that she didn't want to do. He'd already started down that path back at Manticore and he didn't like it. But you didn't disobey orders at Manticore. If they told you to be breeding partners, even if your partner didn't want to do it, you followed orders. He'd just been lucky that his real mission was to get her to trust him and find Logan. He knew some others who hadn't been so lucky.

Alec hopped his way into Command where he found Mole watching the surveillance cameras. Mole looked up when he came in and rolled his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

"Where's Max?" Alec asked instead of answering.

Mole let out a long sigh and then finally said, "Fearless Leader is talking to the Ape."

 _"Where?"_ Alec asked impatiently.

"In the conference room," Mole replied with a shake of his head.

"Thanks," Alec said, and then he hopped off to the conference room.

"Yeah whatever," Mole grumbled back.

The door to the conference room was open and Alec could hear Logan's voice as he hopped down the hall.

"Max, if the Mayor agrees to this, that's a big win," Logan tried to persuade.

"I know," Max replied, she sounded slightly aggravated. "But I need to talk to some people first."

"Like who?" Logan asked suspiciously.

"It's none of your business," Rocky replied lowly.

Alec chose that moment to make his appearance and Max exclaimed in shock, "Alec?!"

Logan had his back to him and he huffed in annoyance, "Max, I don't think he's the one-"

"What are we talking about?" Alec interrupted. He smirked when Logan jumped and turned around in surprise when he spoke.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked in concern. "You're supposed to be resting!"

"I got bored," Alec replied, hopping around the table.

"I left like 15 minutes ago," Max argued.

"Then I missed you," Alec said. He stood right next to her, and then lightly kissed her cheek. He barely pulled back to meet her chocolate brown eyes. She looked shocked and her cheeks instantly flamed red, but she was holding her breath, waiting for something. Alec slowly moved in closer, and then barely pressed his lips against hers.

He was mainly doing this to get under Logan's skin; he hadn't expected to practically get lost in the kiss. Her lips were so soft and she barely opened her mouth and turned her head so he could deepen the kiss. She wasn't pulling away from him so he let go of one of his crutches and threaded his fingers through her hair and pressed her closer.

She let out a soft moan and relaxed against him, opening her mouth further. Alec turned his head and was just about to take this further when suddenly, Logan cleared his throat. Max pulled away, but her cheeks were flushed and she was slightly breathless from their kiss. Alec smirked and moved his hand that was in her hair to rest against the small of her back.

Alec forced himself to look away from her and to look at Logan instead, "Oh, sorry Logan, didn't see ya there." He heard Rocky snort in amusement, but Alec kept his gaze locked on Logan's in a silent challenge. Logan was the first to look away and Alec smiled in victory.

"Knock it off," Max said so only he could hear.

Alec looked back at her, and then brushed her hair back behind her ear. He ducked down and nuzzled against her neck and she shivered when he whispered, "I thought we were supposed to be together…" He kissed her neck, and then lightly bit her delicate skin. Her breath hitched and her hand came up to rest against his cheek.

"Alright guys, get a room," Rocky suddenly said with a light chuckle.

Alec slowly pulled away with a mischievous smile and glanced at Logan and Rocky. "Sorry…what were we talking about again?"

"I'm trying to set up a meeting for Max with the Mayor," Logan replied sounding annoyed.

"When?" Alec asked seriously.

"As soon as possible," Logan said.

"Whoa, wait," Alec said, taking his hand off of his remaining crutch to signal for Logan to slow down. "We need to think about this. We're gonna need security and a place for the meet and we're going to have to coordinate with the Mayor's security. We can't just rush into this."

"There might not be another chance for this," Logan argued.

"Make time!" Alec replied in aggravation. "We are not doing this half assed! If something goes wrong, we lose everything." He couldn't help looking at Max as he said this and she met his gaze.

"How much time?" Max asked him, glancing down at his knee, and then back up. She was asking how long until he was good to go. She wanted him to go with her.

"A week," Alec replied steadily. He didn't think it would actually take a week to heal, but he wanted to be sure that he was completely fine if he was going to watch Max's back.

"Tell the Mayor that we can't meet until next week and there won't be a meet at all if all of our conditions are not met," Max told Logan.

Logan sighed, but he nodded his ok.

"I want four people on your security, they will all be transgenics, and the meet has to be inside our gates. We're not meeting them out there," Alec said.

"They aren't going to go for that," Logan replied. "They'll probably let you have your own security, but there's no way they'll agree to come here."

"Then there's no meet," Alec said simply. "We go there, they've got us."

"So we make them agree that you're free to go after the meet," Logan argued.

"That won't work…" Max threw in. "Alec's right. It has to be here, or no meet."

"This won't be easy…" Logan muttered. "But I'll try…"

"Thanks Logan," Max said with a smile. Logan smiled back and Alec pulled Max a little closer.

"Max, do you think we could talk privately for a minute?" Logan asked. Alec almost growled, but Max elbowed his side before he could. He glared at her and she shot back a look that clearly told him to knock it off.

Alec rolled his eyes, but then grabbed up his fallen crutch and said, "I'll be in the Mess Hall if anyone needs me…" He kissed Max's cheek, but he turned away before she could do anything else.

He heard Max sigh behind him, but he just hopped out of the room. He really was hungry and he needed to find his team and talk some sense into them.

* * *

"The other teams are fine without us," Lucky argued. Alec had found Lucky in the Mess Hall and sat down with him to eat. So far he wasn't having any luck convincing Lucky to go back out on supply runs.

"They have to cover for us which gives them less of a break," Alec replied back evenly.

"We're not going without you," Lucky stated going back to his food.

"Lucky, don't make me start throwing out orders," Alec warned.

"Throwing out orders for what?" Max asked, suddenly walking up to their table and sitting down next to Alec.

"I'm trying to get them to go out on supply runs without me," Alec replied, shooting a quick glare at Lucky.

"I see," Max said as Rocky sat down across from her.

"Where's Logan?" Alec asked curiously.

"He went to go talk to the Mayor," Max replied casually. Then she looked at Lucky and asked, "So, did you know Alec back at Manticore?"

Lucky was frozen in shock that Max was talking to him so Alec kicked his shin under the table. "Oh, um, yes ma'am," Lucky quickly answered. Alec rolled his eyes and Rocky chuckled that he'd called Max ma'am.

"You can call me Max," she instantly corrected.

"Oh, sorry ma'a-um I mean, Max…" Lucky replied nervously.

"It's ok," Max replied with a smile. "Did you two go on a mission together?"

"He was the CO for my unit for a while," Lucky said.

"Do we really have to talk about this?" Alec asked, uncomfortable with the fact that he was the topic of discussion.

"Yes," Max instantly said, shooting a quick look at him to tell him to be quiet.

"We just did exercises with him…it was a lot like the supply runs here, and more fun than with the other CO's back at Manticore…" Lucky said. Then he chuckled and said, "We went off books one time and Alec had us break into the Guard Room. That was the first time I'd ever tried chocolate."

Alec couldn't help laughing at the memory. He'd been in charge of 12 X6's and convinced them that their mission was to break into the Guard Room. They were successful of course and they'd found a ton of chocolate bars in one of the guard's lockers. It'd been pretty funny to see the kids' faces as they tried chocolate for the first time. Chocolate wasn't part of the Transgenic Approved Diet Code, but Alec had tried it before.

He'd broken into the room before and knew that there would be chocolate. He had thought that the X6's deserved some fun for the day instead of having them stand in the rain and do target practice in the woods. They were lucky that they hadn't been caught, but even if they had, the trip would have been worth it.

"Did they catch you?" Max asked with a smile.

"Nope," Alec replied cockily. "I don't get caught."

Rocky snorted, "Yeah, tell that to the scar on my left hip."

"That was a onetime thing," Alec quickly defended. "And we don't even scar so don't give me that crap."

"Wait, what happened?" Max quickly asked.

"Alec got the brilliant idea to wrap up a mission early-"

"No," Alec interrupted. "We were running behind schedule."

Max suddenly put her hand on his arm and said, "Shh, let Rocky talk." Alec expected her to move her hand off of him after she said that, but she didn't. Alec couldn't help his small smile even though he knew she was probably just doing this because they were in public.

Lucky suddenly started to get up and Alec asked, "Where are you going?"

"I told Sarah that I would meet up with her…" Lucky replied hesitantly.

Alec's eyes narrowed and he slowly asked, "What are you talking to Sarah about?"

Lucky sighed, "She just wanted to make sure I wouldn't cave when I finally met up with you…"

"You guys will be going back out there. And it'll be without me," Alec stated firmly.

Lucky just waved him off and quickly made his escape. Alec would have to find him and the rest of his team later to get them back out on runs. He felt bad for making the other teams pick up their slack.

"Ok, I admit, we were behind schedule. But either way, Alec rushed into it without me," Rocky started explaining after Lucky left. "We were supposed to take out a politician, Robert something…"

"Richmond," Alec threw in, "Robert Richmond."

"Right," Rocky said, snapping his fingers. "Anyway, he was a lot smarter than we thought and we were cocky back then-"

"Still cocky now," Max muttered in amusement.

Rocky waved her off and continued, "Alec went in without me to hurry up and get the job done, but Robert was ready for him. I bust in to find him half conscious, tied to a chair. I shot the guy who was holding a knife against Alec's throat and Alec kicked another guy in the knee."

"That's when you dropped your guard and got shot," Alec said before Rocky could continue.

"I was getting there," Rocky replied with a scowl.

Max squeezed his arm that made him glance over at her. She smiled and said, "Let Rocky tell the story." Alec rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help focusing on her lips, their kiss from earlier popping into his head. He had to shake himself so he didn't just grab her right there. Rocky's voice helped him focus back on the conversation.

"Ok, so I did get shot. The guy hit my left hip, making me lose my balance that brought me to the ground. The guy ran forward while I was distracted and kicked the gun out of my hand. I thought we were done for sure. Alec was nearly out, I was down, and there were still two guys and the politician."

"How'd you guys get out?" Max asked. She looked over at him, but he was looking away so he didn't interrupt.

"Well, I looked up and met Alec's eyes and I just knew we were getting out of there. He freakin' winks at me and smirks before he jumps with the chair, that he's tied to, and lands backwards, breaking the chair apart. He rolled back, and then popped up, but his hands were still tied behind his back. He jumped up and brought his hands to the front, and then ran to one of the remaining guards. Took him out without a problem, and then did the same for my guard. He picked up the gun-" Rocky suddenly stopped and looked to Alec.

"And I shot the guy," Alec finished seriously. "I got the job done." He felt Max tense next to him, but he wasn't going to lie about his past. It was messy and he wasn't proud of it, but if Max didn't accept it, he couldn't help that. But she didn't pull away from him like he expected. Instead, she seemed to tighten her grip on his arm.

"But it was one Hell of a ride," Rocky said with a smile, breaking the silence. "Nothin' was ever boring with you around."

"How'd you explain it when you got back?" Masked asked.

Alec smirked, "We lied."

"You lied?!" Max asked incredulously.

"Hey, they taught us to be the best liars there were, they should have been expecting it," Alec said with a smile. "Besides, we would've been thrown into twice the amount of training and they probably wouldn't have put us on another mission together if we'd told the truth."

"So, what's the story you told them?" Max asked curiously.

Alec and Rocky both chuckled, and then Rocky said, "We said that they saw our barcodes and knew what we were. They shot me and took Alec in for questioning, but Alec broke free and the rest of the story was pretty much the same."

"So enough about that," Alec said casually and then asked, "What did you and Logan talk about?"

Max shrugged, "He just wanted to know how things were going…" Alec moved the food around on his plate. "He's starting to believe we're actually together," Max muttered quietly.

Alec nodded, "I would hope so. He'd have to be completely blind not to get that."

"Yeah, you laid it on pretty thick back there…" Max said slowly.

"I didn't hear you complaining," Alec replied with a smirk.

"Are you two only like this when I'm around? Or…" Rocky asked. Max and Alec both glared at him and he just laughed back. "What's next on the agenda, Boss?" Rocky asked after a moment.

"We have to check in with Rain and Jen, go to Command and see how everything's going, get an inventory from the cooks, talk to Doc and see was he needs, and check in with the supply teams so see where we're at," Max replied.

"I can take the supply teams and Doc," Alec offered.

"Alec, you need to go back to the apartment and rest," Max replied.

"Make me," Alec said, locking his gaze with Max's in a challenge. Max's lips parted and it seemed like she was holding her breath.

"He probably won't stay in the apartment anyway," Rocky said, completely missing the tension. Alec looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath as Max seemed to shake herself out of it. "Besides, that's a lot on your list…"

"I gotta see Doc anyway," Alec said quietly, starting to move to get up.

"Why do you have to see Doc?" Max asked, matching his movement.

"Don't worry about it," Alec quickly replied. He gave Max a quick peck on the cheek, he knew he could get away with it here, and then grabbed his crutches and started out of the room.

* * *

"I'm surprised to see you again so soon," Doc said as Alec hopped onto one of the beds.

"Yeah, I told Max I would check in with you to see if you needed anything," Alec said hesitantly.

"But there's something else," Doc guessed, sitting down across from him.

"Well…there's this thing that Max is going to do in about a week and I want to be sure that everything will be good," Alec said slowly. "So I can go with her and not slow her down…she's going to talk with the Mayor and I'm going to back her up."

Doc stood up and started to stretch out Alec's leg. Alec couldn't help but wince when he went too far and Doc looked at him in concern. Doc lightly touched his knee and Alec tried to scoot out of his reach, but Doc held him in place.

"It looks like the swelling hasn't gone down any…" Doc said after a moment. "I really need some more equipment to know if it's something more serious than a strain…"

"You think it'll heal in a week?" Alec asked. He was going whether it was healed or not, but everything would be a lot easier if it was.

"It's hard to say," Doc replied. "The only thing you can do is stay off of it. Maybe put some ice on it to try and bring down the swelling."

Alec nodded; he figured that would be the case. "Alright, what kind of supplies do you need in here?" He hopped off of the bed and grabbed his crutches again.

Doc looked at him a little longer, and then finally started for his office. Alec followed behind him, but stopped outside of the office door. Doc picked up a piece of paper and turned back to Alec.

"I already made a list…I figured I'd give it to you after I cleared you for runs…" Doc said, holding out the paper.

Alec took it and scanned the writing; most of it was just more supplies, but some were pieces of equipment that would be hard to steal. Alec was going to have to start striking up some deals if they wanted things like and x-ray machine and a heart monitor. Alec's eyes widened when he got to the ultrasound.

"Ultrasound?" Alec asked after a moment.

Doc let out a small smile, "Yeah, there are quite a few females who are pregnant thanks to the breeding program. And now that we can sleep with whoever we want, there's a lot more…"

Alec nodded and took a deep breath, "Ok…good to know I guess…I didn't even think about getting baby stuff on the supply runs…I got some baby stuff for Gem, but I guess we're gonna need a lot more…"

Doc agreed and then said, "Get some rest. Hopefully you'll be back to normal by next week. But I know even if you aren't, you'll ignore my advice and go anyway."

"Very true Doc," Alec said with a smile. "I'll see what I can do about this list. See ya again soon!"

"Goodbye Alec," Doc replied in amusement.

* * *

Alec had just gotten back to the apartment from talking to Carter, who thought it was nice that Alec's team refused to go without him. So far though, the other teams seemed to be able to pick up the slack without too many problems. Alec had assured him that he'd get them to go, or at the very least, he would be back in a week so it wouldn't matter.

He eased onto the sofa, and then carefully propped his knee up on the pillow from earlier. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He was exhausted; he hadn't even done much, but all of his energy was going into getting healed. He loved the quick healing factor of being a transgenic, but it was still pretty tiring.

He almost groaned when the door flew open. The only person he knew that would storm into a room was Max, and if she was storming in, that meant something was wrong.

"Alec, get up," Max said in a rush.

"What's wrong now?" Alec mumbled without opening his eyes.

"One of ours went off the rails and he refuses to talk to me," Max said.

"What'd he do?"

"He shot Slink and now he's holding a couple of kids hostage."

Alec groaned and rolled off of the sofa.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	8. Chapter 8

Max stayed beside Alec every step of the way as they walked to the newest disaster in TC. He was going faster than she expected since he was still using the crutches. She hadn't really wanted to drag Alec into this, but the transgenic hadn't given her very many options. He'd taken one look at her and refused to talk to her.

She knew not all of the transgenics trusted her. She hadn't been through the same thing as them since she escaped and she'd made things a lot worse for some of them. Alec was included in that; he'd told her that it'd gotten a lot worse, especially for the twins, when they left and she couldn't blame the ones that didn't trust her.

Whoever this transgenic was, he wasn't listening to Max so she needed Alec. He would be able to talk to the transgenic; he was a smooth talker and he'd get everyone out in one piece.

"What's his name?" Alec asked as they went down the street.

"Um, I don't actually know…" Max replied.

"We didn't catch a name, but Mole was there when we left," Rocky said.

"Great," Alec grumbled and then asked, "How many kids? Is Slink dead or just injured?"

"Just injured, but he's still in there. And there are 4 kids," Max answered.

Alec nodded, but he didn't say anything else. Max knew he was planning out how this was going to happen; she just hoped it worked out the way they wanted.

They slowed once they got to the building, but then Alec stopped before they reached the door. "What floor are they on?"

"Third," Max replied. She frowned when Alec started to move his crutches out from under his arms and over to her. "What are you doing?" She handed the crutches off to Rocky; she wanted to be able to help Alec if she needed to so she couldn't have anything in the way.

Alec slowly rested his foot on the ground and tried to put some weight on it. He winced a little, but other than that he didn't show anything. He was breathing slowly, but he managed to look like he was standing normally. "I can't go in there looking weak. Don't even try arguing with me Max."

"I don't like it," Max said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Too bad," Alec replied. "He's not going to listen to me if I'm gimpin' around like a cripple. I have to act like the CO to get him to stand down."

She still didn't like it, but she couldn't argue with him. He had a good point and they needed to get those kids out alive. "Fine."

Alec took a deep breath, and then slowly walked inside. Max could barely see him limp, but she knew he had to be in pain. This was definitely not going to help him heal any faster. He had a white knuckled grip on the railing, but as they got closer to the third floor he seemed to loosen it a bit.

He went to the open door on the left when they reached the landing and put his hands up to signal that he was unarmed. Max and Rocky followed in behind him and Max took in the scene with one look. Mole was near the door with a shotgun pointed across the room at the stranger, Slink was on the floor unconscious, the kids were sitting huddled together, and the stranger had his gun turned to Alec.

"What's your designation soldier?" Alec ordered once they were in the room. It was surprising to hear him act like a CO. She knew he was a good soldier, but it was strange to hear him be in charge. She was used to a carefree Alec, but now she knew that was sometimes just an act.

"X5-937 Sir," he immediately replied to Alec's tone.

"What's the situation?" Alec asked calmly, but still in charge.

"I was trying to find shelter when I was spotted," he pointed at Slink, "He chased me down and I ran in here where 4 kids were staying. He ran in and I took down the threat."

Max suddenly moved a little from out behind Alec and the transgenic instantly shifted his aim to her. Alec and Rocky both moved in front of her and Alec had his gun out and pointed at the transgenic before she could even blink.

"Then she came in!" The transgenic shouted in agitation. "She's not one of us!"

"Stand down!" Alec shouted back. "That's an order!" The transgenic's aim wavered, but he didn't lower his gun. "Lower your weapon or I will shoot you."

He finally started to lower his gun, but Alec still kept his pointed at the man. It was tense in the room and Max held her breath and waited. She didn't know if she should just run over there and disarm the transgenic, but that might make the transgenic shoot Alec and that was not part of the plan.

"I can't do this anymore…" The transgenic suddenly muttered. Alec yelled, "NO!" And started to run forward, but he didn't get there in time. The transgenic turned his gun towards himself and pulled the trigger. Alec got to him just as his legs collapsed. The transgenic was now dead on the floor and there was complete silence in the room.

Alec rubbed his forehead in defeat and Max slowly moved forward. She lightly touched Alec's shoulder and said softly, "There wasn't anything we could've done." Alec just shook his head in reply. "Alec, you still saved the kids."

"It just never ends," Alec replied, barely above a whisper. He dropped his hand from his forehead and held his gun loosely at his side.

Max suddenly turned to Mole, but she kept her hand on Alec's shoulder. "Mole, get the kids out of here and get Slink to the Infirmary. And then get a cleanup crew in here."

Moles nodded, and then quickly went into motion. Max turned her attention back to Alec, but his focus was on the dead transgenic. Max moved so she was right in Alec's face, so she was the only thing he could see. She put one hand against his chest and her other against his cheek.

"Alec," Max whispered, trying to get him to focus. He had a faraway look in his eyes and she knew he wasn't with her. "Alec, you're not there, ok?" He stood like that for another second, and then shook himself out of it.

"Sorry…" Alec muttered once he was back to the present. He tried to put on a cocky smirk, but it didn't reach his eyes. He put one hand over her hand on his chest and lightly squeezed her fingers.

She started to ask if he was ok, but then stopped when she looked down at his left leg. His leg was shaking so badly, she couldn't believe he was still standing. Just as she thought this, his leg started to collapse and she moved from just emotionally supporting him to actually supporting him.

"Rocky," Max called out. "We need the crutches."

Rocky was there in a second. He helped Max get the crutches back in position and Alec just let them help him. He must have been exhausted and now the adrenaline was wearing out.

"C'mon, let's get you home," Max soothed.

Alec just nodded and let her lead him out of the room. She stayed in front of him as they went down the stairs just in case he fell. They made it down the stairs with no problem, and then slowly started for their apartment. Max walked beside Alec and Rocky trailed a little behind them.

"You alright?" Max asked quietly.

"Super," Alec replied sarcastically, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

"I shouldn't have dragged you into it," Max muttered after a moment.

Alec stopped suddenly and looked at her. She stared back into his green eyes, hoping she could figure out what was going on in his head, but she didn't have any luck. He slumped a little against his crutches, and then said in defeat, "It would have happened sooner or later. Some of us are more messed up than others thanks to Manticore…"

Max nodded, and then reached out so she could touch Alec's arm. She didn't know if it was to reassure herself or him, but it was comforting either way. "What were you thinking about back there?" Max asked softly.

Alec looked down at her hand against his arm and she thought he was going to shrug her off, but he didn't. "Just the old days…" Alec hedged easily.

"What about the old days?" Max pushed. She wanted Alec to trust her and open up to her; so far she hadn't really been successful.

Alec slowly looked up at her through his lashes, "Max, I'm not spilling my guts here in the middle of TC."

Max groaned when he shut her out and asked, "Why not?" She sounded like a child, but she didn't care.

Alec smirked and replied, "How about once you start feeling like sharing and caring, then I'll join in, deal?" Max scowled, she didn't like that deal at all. She didn't want to talk about the old days to anyone; she just wanted to forget about it. "That's what I thought," Alec said, he turned and started hopping towards their apartment again.

She huffed, but she would let it go for now. She would work on being more open if that meant Alec would actually talk to her. It would probably take a while though…

Max caught up to Alec again and they walked in silence the rest of the way to their apartment. He started for the sofa as soon as he was inside, but Max tried to turn him back to the rooms. "Why don't you just go sleep in a real bed?"

"Why? You wanna join me?" Alec asked, raising his eyebrows playfully.

Max couldn't help her smile at seeing her Alec return, "I just thought it would be more comfortable…"

"I didn't hear you refuse," Alec pointed out, going down the hallway to his room.

"I'm not going to join you, I'm just going to get you set up," Max said, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever you say, Maxie," Alec teased over his shoulder.

Max shook her head in amusement and followed him into the room. He sat on the edge of his bed and dropped his crutches to the floor. He pulled his shirt off over his head, and then carefully scooted back, holding up his injured leg as he did so. Max moved to rearrange the pillows behind him and grabbed one of the extra ones to prop his knee up.

"Thanks," Alec said, but his voice sounded tired and his eyes were starting to droop shut. Max helped him lie down, and then pulled the covers up over him. She started to get up to leave when Alec reached out and grabbed her wrist and mumbled, "Stay…"

Max hesitated for a moment; she didn't want this to get complicated. She and Alec were friends now; they were in a fake relationship, but they had really just become friends. She didn't know how she really felt about him, but right now he was a friend in need and staying with him after what had just happened was the least she could do. He needed some comfort and that was something she could actually give him. So she relaxed again and got more comfortable next to Alec.

He was already mostly asleep and she thought that she would leave after he was all the way asleep, but he was so warm against her side. It was kind of addicting and she ended up getting under the covers and snuggling closer. She didn't want to fall asleep, but Alec's slow breathing was soothing and his body heat helped her drift off. She rested her head against his chest and she couldn't help wrapping herself around him. She was almost all the way asleep when she felt Alec's arm wrap around her back.

* * *

Max woke up a few hours later, still wrapped around Alec. She couldn't ignore that she felt right with him and that thought brought back the kiss from earlier. She sighed thinking about it; she'd forgotten about everyone in the room except for her and Alec. She hadn't wanted the kiss to ever end. But it had and she'd had to practically shake herself to focus back on what Logan had been saying.

It had been Alec kissing her, but she liked Logan. Didn't she? She was so confused now. Except that she didn't even think Alec liked her that way. He was helping her out so she would stay away from Logan. He'd just been laying it on thick since he liked messing with Logan; he didn't actually want to kiss her. Did he?

He'd asked her to stay, but that could have been because he was tired and he'd just seen something horrible happen. And she was a girl, and Alec pretty much liked any girl he came across. She shouldn't think too much about it, but she couldn't help it. She needed to stop this kind of thinking, the only thing it would do was get her hopes up and break her heart in the end. She should know better.

What she really needed to do was talk to someone about this and get her own feelings straightened out. She didn't have very many friends here that she could talk to about this. She had Rocky, but she got the feeling that he was trying to play matchmaker and wouldn't actually help her sort out how she felt.

Alec was usually her go to if she wanted to talk about something, but obviously that wouldn't work. She couldn't talk to Alec since she was having feelings for him and that wouldn't lead them anywhere good. Well, it would probably feel good, but that would just make things more confusion.

The others never really wanted to talk to her. She was the leader and people usually started doing their jobs and avoiding her gaze when she walked in a room. And she obviously couldn't talk to Logan about this. That would be an awkward conversation. _Hey Logan, by the way, I'm starting to actually have feelings for Alec, but I don't know if I should act on them. What do you think?_ The thought made her smile.

She really needed to talk to Original Cindy. She hadn't seen her best friend since the Jam Pony incident. Cindy and Sketch had to take off after the flag raising since this place was toxic. Logan was supposed to go with them, but he wanted to stick around for as long as he could to try and talk to her.

"Time is it?" Alec suddenly mumbled sleepily. She could feel the rumble of his chest against her ear and it made her smile.

She shrugged, "I think it's only been a few hours…"

He started to turn towards her, but hissed in pain when he stretched his knee. "That was stupid," Alec grumbled to himself. He suddenly frowned and looked down at her, "You stayed," he said in surprise.

Max smiled, "Well…you asked…"

"Thanks…" Alec replied, but he sounded slightly embarrassed.

"How're you feeling?" Max asked after a moment.

"Better," Alec answered easily. He looked uncomfortable again after a moment, and the slowly said, "Y'know, I think that might have been one of the few times I didn't have any nightmares…"

"Really?" Max asked curiously.

"Yeah," Alec said quietly and then he tried to brush it off, "Weird huh?"

"It's not that weird," Max reassured and then admitted, "I have nightmares a lot too…"

"Manticore, the stain you just can't get rid of…" Alec said with a dry chuckle. He started to sit up and scoot back, but he brought her up with him. She let him and she stayed resting against his chest. It seemed easier to talk to each other like this and she didn't want it to stop.

"What are your nightmares about?" Max asked.

Alec shrugged, "Just missions gone wrong or time in psy-ops…what about you?"

Max shrugged too, "The escape not working, getting captured again, or friends dying…" Alec's arm tightened around her shoulders and she wrapped her arms around his waist. She turned her face to press against his shoulder and then asked her question from earlier, "What were you thinking about in the room?"

He tensed for a second, but then forced himself to relax again. "It was like déjà vu…something just like that happened while I was at Manticore. One of the X5's in my unit went off the rails and shot one of the others. I tried to take control so no one else got hurt, but then she said she couldn't take it anymore and shot herself…"

"I'm sorry," Max tried to soothe, but he shrugged against her.

"It's just part of life…"

"But it shouldn't be," Max cut in.

"Some people just need out…"

Max frowned, not liking that she couldn't really do anything for those people. She should've destroyed Manticore down sooner…

"Max, you can't save everyone," Alec said, practically reading her mind.

"I can try," Max replied in determination.

Alec nodded like he knew she was going to say that, and then he changed the subject and she knew her look inside his head was done for the day. "What are you doing the rest of the day?"

"I wanna go see OC," Max said after a moment. She didn't want to be shut out so soon, but she knew she couldn't push him.

"You want us to bring her here or are you going out there?" Alec asked. He sounded like he didn't like the second option at all, but he was just going to have to deal with it.

"I'm going out there," Max replied, leaving no room for argument. He opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off before he could. "Don't even bother. I'm not changing my mind."

Alec closed his mouth, and then nodded like he understood. "You need a break from this place." It was Max's turn to look surprised and Alec chuckled in amusement. "I don't blame ya. That's why I like the supply runs."

"Are you going to let me go by myself or is Rocky coming with me?" Max asked, her eyes narrowed.

"What do you think?" Alec asked with a smirk.

Max groaned, but then thought of something that would get back at him for this. "Fine, but I need you to go to Command and supervise what's going on there. Make sure Mole's not stirring things up."

Alec looked up at the ceiling and sighed, "Fine, I guess that's fair…"

Without thinking, like she did it every day and it was just routine, she suddenly kissed his jaw and started to get up. She froze when she was on her feet and her cheeks instantly turned red. She looked at him and saw that he was just as surprised as she was.

"I'll see you later," she said quickly, and then practically ran out of the room.

* * *

"Hey Boo," Original Cindy greeted as she opened the door for Max. She gave Max a tight hug before she let her and Rocky into the little apartment that they used to share. "Who's this?" OC asked after she pulled back from the hug and looked at Rocky.

"Name's Rocky," he introduced himself smoothly. "I'm Max's bodyguard."

"Bodyguard?" OC asked, her eyebrows rose in disbelief.

"It's a long story," Max muttered.

"Well, looks like we've got a lot ta talk about," Cindy said, motioning them in.

Max sat next to OC on the little sofa while Rocky sat in one of the smaller chairs. He looked huge in the chair and Max could hardly hide her smile.

She and Original Cindy talked about the more trivial things that had gone on since they'd last seen each other. OC said that Normal had a whole Pro Freak campaign going on now and Sketch had started making the big bucks since he'd gotten the inside scoop about the transgenics. Max told her about setting up TC and things eventually made it to Alec.

"How is your boy?" OC asked with interest when Max mentioned he was the reason things were running so smoothly.

"He's hurt right now…busted his knee on one of the supply runs," Max replied.

"Not what I meant, Boo," Cindy said with a scowl. Max looked over at Rocky and OC followed her gaze and then asked, "Mind givin' us some privacy, Sugar?"

Rocky smiled, "Honey, I already know what you're going to talk about and I'm all for Malec."

"Malec?" Max asked with a frown.

"Maybe Mac? No, I don't like that one as much, maybe just M/A…" Rocky said in thought.

"Rocky, what are you talking about?" Max asked in annoyance.

"I'm mashing your names together since I think you should actually be together and not just this fake shit," Rocky said with a smile.

Max rolled her eyes and ignored him. She looked back to OC who was looking at Rocky in amusement. "I like him," she said with a smile and Rocky beamed.

"This is serious," Max said with a huff.

"Sugar, what's wrong?" Original Cindy asked calmly.

Max sighed and dropped her head into her hands, "I don't know. I still like Logan, but Alec…Alec…I can't even describe what I feel about Alec…"

"Do you think he likes you back?" OC asked.

"No," Max said at the same time that Rocky said, "Yes."

Max scowled at Rocky, and then looked back at OC and admitted, "I don't know."

"If you knew if he liked you, would you admit that you liked him?" Cindy asked. Max hesitated; she didn't actually know the answer to that. "And are you willing to give up Logan completely?" She didn't know that one either. Original Cindy waited to see if she would answer, but she didn't have the answers.

"Ok, well think about it," OC said, and then she grabbed Max's hand and shook her head. "Mmmm girl, we need to clean up those nails. C'mon, Original Cindy's gonna take care of you."

Max smiled as OC went to get the nail file and nail polish. She missed just being a girl with her best friend. Max still didn't have the answers, but it wasn't something someone else could answer for her. She needed to figure out her own feelings, but it was really nice to see Original Cindy again.

* * *

 _Hope you all still like it! More soon..._


	9. Chapter 9

_"X5-494, why did your mission fail?"_

 _He sat there, hardly daring to breathe and staring straight ahead. He was completely strapped to the chair and his hands were clenched into tight fists. He couldn't answer this question; he'd already tired multiple times, but no matter what he said, it was wrong._

 _"Answer the question 494!"_

 _He couldn't; they didn't like the answer so it didn't matter. It was not his fault that the mission failed, it was theirs. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man in the room look over and nod at the other man. He tried to brace himself for what he knew was coming next, but it was no use._

 _The laser was turned on again and pointed in his eye. He managed to hold in his scream for almost 3 seconds, and then lost that battle. His throat was torn from screaming so much already, but the pain was too much. He strained against his restraints, but he knew it was useless. It seemed to last forever; like it was never going to end and this was going to be how he died. But it did end and he collapsed against the chair, completely drained._

 _"X5-494, why did your mission fail?"_

 _His breaths were coming out in harsh pants and he couldn't answer the question even if he wanted to. He knew they wouldn't kill him; he was too expensive of a creation to kill. It hadn't even been a real mission; it had been a trap that they had created, designed for failure. He was in here because of them. His men were dead because of them._

 _"Again," the man said._

 _The laser was turned on again and this time he didn't even hold off his scream. He was too tired to hold it in anyway. They were trying to force him to admit it had been his fault that the mission failed, but that was the only thing he could keep fighting against. It hadn't been his fault and he knew it. The laser was turned off again and he slumped in relief._

 _"X5-494, why did your mission fail? You lost four men 494! You were the CO! Why did your mission fail?"_

 _"Because you designed it that way…" He finally mumbled in response. His words were barely understandable, his voice was so rough._

 _"What did you say, soldier?!"_

 _"You designed it to fail, so it did!" He yelled._

 _Instead of looking angry, the man looked satisfied. He smiled, and then looked at the other man and nodded. He knew he had made a big mistake; he'd fallen into their trap again and now he was going to pay the price. He screamed when the laser was turned on again._

Alec gasped awake, tangled in his sheets. He was breathing hard and was covered in sweat from reliving the old memory. He knew he shouldn't have fallen asleep again when Max had left, but he hadn't wanted to go straight to Command and so he'd dozed off.

The nightmares had been gone right after he'd gotten injured. He'd been too tired to dream about anything, and then he'd been unconscious for a day which had helped. He knew they would be back and he'd expected them sooner, but he hadn't dreamt at all when Max was sleeping with him. He'd naively thought that they would stay away, but he'd been wrong. Maybe Max was the key…

Wouldn't that just be great? How was he going to convince her to sleep with him more often? He didn't even know if she was the reason that the nightmares had taken a night off, but he didn't want to scare her off. And he didn't want to seem weak.

He shook his head to get rid of the idea of getting Max to stay with him. He needed to get through this on his own. He wasn't supposed to need anyone else; he would be considered defective back at Manticore for this kind of thinking.

He jumped suddenly when there was a muffled knock on the front door. He covered his face with his hands for a second, and then ran them through his hair. He needed to get himself back together. Whoever was at his door knocked again so he threw the covers off of himself and quickly got out of bed. He forgot about his injured knee though, and put his full weight on it.

He couldn't help his small cry of pain as he lost his balance and fell to the floor. He threw his arms out to try and catch himself on the nightstand, but ended up knocking it over and he still ended up on the floor. "Shit…" Alec breathed out, curling up in a ball and holding his knee. His eyes were closed tight against the pain and tears started leaking out of the corners.

"Alec?" A voice called out from the living room. Alec recognized the voice, but was in too much pain to connect the dots.

He ignored his visitor for now and slowly tried to bring himself back under control. He slowed his breathing and started forcing himself to relax. He listened to the person's slow footsteps come further into his apartment. They were hesitant to come back to his room and he wished he had enough control over himself to call out to them.

There was a light knock on his bedroom door that had Alec opening his eyes, and then a quiet, "Alec?"

Alec was embarrassed that he still couldn't answer and he just waited until his door opened just a crack. Bear suddenly poked her head inside and slowly scanned the room. When she spotted Alec on the floor her face fell in sympathy. Bear was a tall and thin, dark skinned woman who didn't take anyone's crap. She was extremely tough and very protective of the people she liked. Alec had heard she'd gotten her name because people referred to her as The Mama Bear; if she liked you, she took you in as her own, but if you crossed her or one of her people, you better watch out because you probably wouldn't live much longer.

She walked into the room, and then crouched down in front of him and asked in a calm voice, "Bed or wait?" Alec just shook his head no in response. "Or call Max?"

"No," Alec immediately replied, his voice raspy.

"Well, those are your only options, Honey," Bear said with a small smile.

"How about you just back up time five minutes, and I'll be good," Alec returned, his smile slightly strained.

Bear let out a light chuckle, but then reached out and gently pushed on Alec's shoulders to get him to lie flat. She moved down until she was next to Alec's knee and slowly straightened it out. Alec hissed and tried to pull his leg away, but Bear kept him in place until it was more comfortable.

Alec let himself relax completely against the floor and closed his eyes again at the temporary relief. His eyes flew open though a second later when he was suddenly lifted up and put back on the bed. He glared at Bear, but she was already walking out of the room. Alec heard her mess around in the kitchen for a moment, and then she came back inside.

She held a bad of ice in her hand that she set on Alec's knee once she was by his side again. She reached over and got a pillow and carefully propped his knee up. Alec took a deep breath and savored the feeling of being on the bed again.

He lay like that for a minute, and then remembered that Bear had been looking for him. He cracked open his eyes and asked, "Did you need something? Or someone in Command?"

Bear shook her head, but she looked reluctant to say what had brought her here. Alec sat up slightly and rested on his elbows, interested to know why she came to see him.

"I wanted to check on you," Bear answered lowly. "I heard screaming…"

His face fell slightly, embarrassed that he had been screaming in his sleep from the nightmare and from being caught.

"I was probably the only one who heard," Bear reassured quickly. "You weren't being very loud and I was keeping an ear out already." Alec frowned, silently asking her why? "Rocky mentioned you were injured and I heard him and Max leave a little while ago."

Alec raised his eyebrows in understanding; everyone was looking out for him. He didn't know if he thought it was nice or annoying that so much attention was being given to him for this. It definitely showed that he had people who cared about him, but he wasn't used to that so it was weird.

Bear suddenly left the room again without a word and Alec heard her walk completely out of the apartment. He shrugged figuring she had just wanted to check on him and was now satisfied so she went back to her apartment. He closed his eyes again, but he tried to keep himself from falling asleep. He didn't want another nightmare to pop up that he could announce to the whole world.

He jumped again a few minutes later when Bear walked in carrying a bowl of soup.

"You're a jumpy thing today, aren't you?" Bear asked in amusement as she set the bowl of soup down on the nightstand. She grabbed some more pillows and put them behind him to prop him up, and then handed him the bowl of soup. He raised his eyebrows in question and she just shrugged back, "You looked a little pale. Soup will fix you right up."

Alec rolled his eyes, but couldn't resist the delicious smell of the soup. He ate a hot spoonful while Bear sat on the edge of his bed.

"Since I have you here, I have a question for you," Bear started after a minute.

Alec huffed, "You're only doing this so you can corner me, aren't you?"

"Not only," Bear replied with a mischievous smile. "I truly care about your wellbeing, since it appears that you don't."

"I care about my wellbeing," Alec replied with a small pout.

Bear raised her eyebrows and said sarcastically, "I can see that. Which is why it looks like you haven't eaten in a while…you truly care."

Alec couldn't argue with that, and instead of answering, shoved in another mouthful of soup. "What did you want to ask me?"

"When will I actually get to do my job that you assigned me?" Bear asked with a frown. "It seems like Rocky never wants a break and I'm stuck being bored and out of the loop."

Alec stopped his spoon in midair; he'd forgotten that he'd assigned Bear to be Max's backup bodyguard when Rocky couldn't do it. But Rocky had instantly taken up his position and had refused to let it go. Bear seemed truly disappointed that she hadn't gotten to do her job yet and Alec felt he needed to fix that somehow. But he didn't want to force Rocky to take a break either.

"You can be on the security detail that's coming up!" Alec suddenly said, remembering that they were supposed to meet with the Mayor at some point. It would be perfect; that would give Bear something to do and he'd get her to be on the security team.

Bear gave him a small smile and said, "Of course, I would love that. But I have another idea…"

"What is it?" Alec asked slowly, confused with where she was going with this. Maybe she didn't want to be on guard duty at all. That would probably be ok. He could probably get her on one of the supply teams. She was like a ninja; she was tough, smart, and scary good at hiding and blending in. She would be really good at supply runs…

"I want to be your bodyguard," Bear stated simply.

"What?" Alec asked with a scowl; that wasn't what he'd been expecting. "I don't need a bodyguard."

"Are you the Second in Command?" Bear asked, not accepting Alec's refusal.

"Um, yes…I guess…" Alec answered. It wasn't really official, but he just kind of assumed that he was.

"Will people be gunning for you, like they will be for Max?" Bear asked.

"Maybe…"

"How many supply runs do you go on?" Bear suddenly asked, switching her line of questioning.

Alec shrugged, "I don't know…a lot…"

"How did you get injured?" Bear asked.

"Does this have a point?" Alec asked, slightly annoyed with the 20 questions.

"You need me and you'd be a hypocrite if you refused a bodyguard when you assigned Max a bodyguard for the same things," Bear replied.

"I don't want a bodyguard," Alec whined.

"That's too bad," Bear said simply. "If I have to, I will go to Max with this and she will agree with me." Alec was pouting now and didn't answer her, or even look at her. "I won't be in the way and I definitely won't be as bad as Rocky. I'll just be a friend whose job is to watch your back."

"I have friends who'll watch my back…" Alec mumbled.

"But that will be my only job," Bear shot back. "I will go with you on supply runs and walk with you around Terminal City. No one has to know I'm your bodyguard; you don't have to announce it to anyone. You won't even know I'm there."

"What if I refuse?" Alec asked.

Bear smiled, "I will still watch your back you just won't see me."

Alec nodded, figuring that would be the case. "Fine," Alec said in exaggeration.

"Good, I'm very glad we both agree," Bear said with a smirk.

"Great, can you leave now?" Alec asked with a scowl.

Bear's eyebrows drew together in confusion, "Do you not understand what a bodyguard does?"

"I don't need a bodyguard right now! I'm in my apartment sleeping!" Alec said in aggravation.

"There could be a sniper outside of your window right now, someone could break in and attack you, there could be a gas leak-"

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Alec muttered, throwing his arm over his eyes.

Bear chuckled, "Only somewhat…besides, I thought you were supposed to go to Command…"

Alec looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath, and then muttered, "These have to be the thinnest walls in Terminal City…" He finally looked back to Bear and reluctantly said, "Yes, I'm supposed to go to Command."

"So, when are we going?" Bear asked with a victorious smile and Alec groaned.

* * *

Bear sighed again and Alec couldn't help his smirk. He ignored her though and picked up a report from Carter on the supply runs. Right now they had enough food for a month for everyone inside and they had almost all of the apartments furnished. They would need to keep getting food, but now they could start getting more clothes, more baby things, and Doc's list of medical supplies.

Command was mostly empty since it was getting dark outside. Only the people who needed to be there were, and they had pretty much left him and Bear alone. It was weird being in there with hardly anyone else, but it was kind of nice too.

Bear huffed to make sure Alec knew she wasn't enjoying this. "If you're bored, you could go back to the apartment…"

"That's even more boring than this," Bear replied, scanning the room for anything she could do.

Alec shifted a little and tried to find a more comfortable position for his knee. He was sitting in an old office chair and his options were either sit like normal or stretch out his leg and neither one was very comfortable. Bear shot him a look before she got up and walked around the room. She found a little stool and rolled it over to him.

"Put your leg on this," Bear commanded.

Alec just glared back at her and refused to accept her help.

"Fine. Be uncomfortable. I don't care," Bear replied. She stomped back to her chair, but she left the stool next to him in case he changed his mind. She crossed her arms and she looked across the room so she wouldn't have to look at him.

Alec tried to go back to the report, but she'd left the stool where he could see it out of the corner of his eye. His knee chose that moment to send out a twinge of pain and it seemed like it was telling him he was an idiot. Alec finally sighed, and then hopped up and brought the stool over to his chair. He situated it so he could gently rest his leg on it and he almost sighed in the relief it gave his knee. He couldn't help but look over at Bear; he let out a small smile when he saw her smirking at him. He nodded his thanks, and then went back to the report.

"Why did you assign me to be a bodyguard?" Bear suddenly asked quietly.

Alec looked up in surprise, but then shrugged. "Rocky recommended you." Bear looked slightly surprised to hear that, but she also looked a little disappointed at his answer. "What's wrong with that?" Alec asked curiously.

Bear shook her head and then gave him a small smile, "I just hoped you thought I was more useful at actually protecting someone instead of killing someone…"

Alec frowned and asked, "What did they have you do back at Manticore?"

"I was just an assassin," Bear answered softly, keeping her gaze on the ground.

"I was an assassin too," Alec tried to reassure. He never thought he'd be reassuring someone like that, but that was how messed up they were thanks to Manticore.

Bear suddenly looked up at him and gave him a small smile, "But that wasn't the only thing you did. You got to do some good too; you got a break from the killing. You were a CO for a while. You broke out a group of X6's from a sadistic bastard that was even worse than Manticore. You learned piano and went undercover…I was just an assassin."

Alec was shocked that she knew that much about him. All of those things were in his file, but he hadn't told anyone about them. He tried to push all of that to the back of his head though, to think about later. Instead, he thought about Bear just being an assassin.

He knew that some transgenics had been just assassins back at Manticore. They were sent in to be invisible and get the job done. They didn't have a unit; they were just by themselves and their only job was to kill. They were almost too dangerous to keep around at Manticore, but they were sent to psy-ops once a week so they could keep them brainwashed to doing what they wanted them to.

"How did you know Rocky?" Alec finally asked.

"I was sent in to clean up a mission that had gone wrong," Bear replied, looking at him intently. "It was a 2-man mission where he was posing as a bodyguard. I was sent in after the target escaped. Manticore had already been watching them both because of another mission that hadn't gone as planned, but this time it went completely wrong."

Alec started to frown; there was something that he couldn't quite place.

"I was supposed to bring the 2 of them in and figure out who was to blame for the mission failure. Rocky was there with the other transgenic when I arrived and they were both waiting for me. Rocky started to explain that it had been a set-up. The man had never wanted to deal with Manticore; he just wanted to get his hands on a transgenic. The other transgenic was wounded; a gunshot to the side. It was apparent that Rocky hadn't done his job, so he would be the one to blame for the failure. I started to take them both in, but the transgenic stopped me. He claimed it was his fault that the mission failed. He'd had a shot and he didn't take it. I didn't believe him, but he insisted that he was to blame. Rocky stood there in shock and I knew the transgenic was lying, but I'd never seen this before. He was willingly taking the punishment away from Rocky…and I let him…"

Alec's head was starting to hurt. This story sounded so familiar, but he didn't know why. It was probably just because he'd been on those same kinds of missions with Rocky. "What happened?" Alec finally asked, needing to know what had happened to the transgenic.

Bear looked at him with sad eyes, "I took them both in and told them that it was the transgenic's fault. They took him to psy-ops and I was sent out to kill the target."

"Who was it?" Alec asked.

Bear was silent for a moment, and then said, "It was you."

A spike of pain suddenly shot through Alec's head as all of the pieces were put together. It felt like something shattered in his brain, and then memories of the story that Bear had just told him came pouring in. It was an explosion of pain that had him holding his head and closing his eyes tight to try and shut it out. The pain kept building until it was so bad, that he blacked out.

* * *

Alec was only out for what seemed like a minute, but when he did come back, he found that he'd fallen to the floor. Bear was next to him, apologizing in what sounded like every language she knew. Alec tried to collect himself for a minute, and then he slowly opened his eyes and turned to his back.

"I knew you…I knew you before…" Alec mumbled.

"Alec, I'm so sorry, I didn't know that would happen," Bear quickly apologized. "I was just seeing if you would remember, but then I couldn't lie to you…I'm such an idiot!"

"Bear…I'm ok," Alec tried to reassure. His headache was down to a dull throb and he could now clearly remember everything that had happened. The mission had gone wrong as she had said. The man had played Manticore and had waited until Alec had walked in the room to take him out. Rocky was supposed to be with him, but he'd gotten a little distracted by the man's secretary and was late to the meeting. Alec had had a shot to take out the man before he left, but he hadn't felt like doing his job and had let him go.

He remembered Bear coming to take them in and he'd insisted that it was his fault. She had known he was lying, but he'd wanted to protect his friend and she had actually let him. He didn't remember much about psy-ops that time since he was unconscious for most of it. Then, he hadn't remembered what had landed him in psy-ops to begin with. They had cleared out his memory of the failure and put him on a new set of missions.

"I shouldn't have told you," Bear said, "It was just the bravest and the stupidest thing I had ever seen anyone do and I couldn't get keep from telling you. It had seemed like you didn't really remember me from before, but Rocky did-"

"Bear," Alec cut in. He waited until she met his eyes and then said, "I'm ok. You just broke whatever wall they put in my head, but I remember that now."

"You had a seizure," Bear said in a panic. "You held your head like it was hurting, closed your eyes and fell out of your chair, and then you started seizing."

"Oh…" Alec replied. It made sense now why his whole body hurt along with his head. He'd just thought it was from falling to the floor again, but he was wrong.

"Doc's on his way," Bear said. "I haven't called Max yet, but I'm about to."

"No," Alec said to stop her. "Please don't call Max. It's the first break from this place that she's had and I don't want to ruin it."

Bear scowled at him and said, "She is going to be pissed when she finds out."

"If she finds out," Alec replied, raising his eyebrows.

Bear looked at him in disbelief, "You think she won't find out. You're hilarious."

Alec glared at her, "The only people who are gonna know what happened are you, me, and Doc. And you could really call him off, cause I'm fine."

"No," Bear replied simply. He started to get up, but she easily kept him down. "I have half a mind to tell her myself….Or even call Rocky." She looked put out to talk to Rocky which sparked Alec's interest.

"What's wrong with Rocky? You two not getting along?" Alec asked in amusement.

Bear narrowed her eyes at him, "You're the reason I have to live with him."

"Hey, I thought it made sense!" Alec defended.

"Just like you thought it made sense to room with Max," Bear said with a small smirk. "Your fake relationship cannot fool me…"

Alec scowled, "What do you mean? We're not in a fake relationship…"

"You may be able to fool the Geek, but I am not fooled," Bear said with a knowing smile. "You two are not in a real relationship, but you are falling in love."

Alec rolled his eyes, "We're just friends."

"Sure," Bear said easily. She looked up suddenly and Alec followed her gaze to see Doc walking over.

"We meet again," Doc said with a smile. "What happened this time?"

"I broke him," Bear said. "But I may have overreacted, he seems fine now."

"I am fine," Alec threw in.

"I'm still going to look you over," Doc replied. "You are lying on the ground after all…And it would be faster if you two would tell me what happened."

Bear looked at him, letting him answer if he wanted to. She wasn't going to tell on him to Doc. Alec figured she wouldn't tell on him to Max either, she was just worried about him.

"Bear says I had a seizure," Alec finally said.

Doc frowned at him, "Do you need Tryptophan? I have some back at my office."

"No, I don't get them like Max does," Alec replied. "I think Bear just broke through one of the walls put in by the ever friendly psy-ops, so it's no big deal."

"How long did it last?" Doc asked Bear.

"Only about 30 seconds," Bear answered.

"Ok," Doc said with a sigh. "Seems like no matter what you do, it still isn't restful."

Alec just shrugged. He was feeling ok right now, but he knew his muscles were going to start aching soon.

"What happened?!" Max suddenly yelled from the doorway. She looked pissed standing in the doorway looking at the three of them. Rocky came in behind her; he quickly took in the room, but then relaxed when he saw that there wasn't a threat.

Alec groaned and rolled his head to glare at Bear. She looked at him like he was insane; she hadn't told Max.

"What happened?" Max repeated. She walked further into the room until she was next to him, and then crouched down.

"I slipped," Alec tried to play off. But Max scowled; she knew he wasn't telling her something. He sighed; he might as well fess up since she was going to find out anyway. "I guess I might've had a seizure…"

"What?!" Max practically screeched. "How?!" Her hands were kind of fluttering over him, but she didn't touch him. It seemed like she was afraid that if she touched him, she would break him.

He rolled his eyes and reached up and grabbed her hand and held it against his chest. "I'm fine," Alec reassured, looking into her eyes so she knew he was telling the truth.

"I shouldn't have made you come out here. I shouldn't have gone to see OC," Max said quickly.

"Max, calm down," Alec said. "This isn't your fault, it's mine."

"No," Bear suddenly cut in. "I'm not letting you do this again." She looked right at him to make sure he wasn't going to say anything, and then she looked at Max. "It was my fault."

Rocky groaned and they all looked at him in confusion. "This is insane! Doc, would you like to take the blame in this too?"

Doc chuckled, "No, I don't think I can. Max, Alec is fine and it really is no one's fault. Alec, as usual, get some rest and I'll see you again soon." He patted Alec's shoulder, and then nodded to Max, Rocky, and Bear and walked out of the room.

"This is no one's fault," Rocky said. Then he looked up and thought about it for a second, and then said, "Actually, I don't know what happened, but I think you're all idiots. Whatever happened, it probably wasn't anyone's fault."

"What did happen?" Max asked slowly.

"I broke a wall that psy-ops put in his head," Bear explained. Rocky shot her a sharp look, but she stared back, daring him to say something. He didn't, so she continued, "They made him forget about when we met and when I told him, it broke the wall."

"Oh," Max said. Alec could practically see the wheels turning in her head; she was probably trying to figure out how to ask how they met without actually saying it. Alec looked over at Bear; she seemed uncomfortable with the attention, so he decided to change the subject.

"As comfortable as the floor is, I would really like to get up now," Alec said with a small smirk.

Max suddenly looked a little more relieved and she helped him sit up after just a minute. He ended up leaning against her though once he was sitting up. His back was against her chest and she wrapped her arms around him to keep him steady.

She rested her cheek on top of his shoulder and whispered, "You ok?" Her face was turned toward his neck and her breath tickled his skin.

He nodded back and then breathed out, "Yeah, just got a little dizzy…"

"Can you make it back to the apartment?" Max asked softly.

"Yeah, no problem," Alec replied with a wave of his hand.

Max rested her hand flat against his chest, and then lightly kissed his jaw. Alec thought she was probably doing this because Bear was here. Rocky already knew their relationship was fake, but Max didn't know that Bear knew it too.

"C'mon, let's get you home," Max said.

She and Bear both helped him up, and then all of them started for the apartment. The walk back was kind of a blur for him. His muscles were like jelly and it was all he could do to not fall to the ground. It seemed like just a second, and then they were walking up the stairs.

They got him inside and in no time at all he was on his bed again. He was starting to doze off when he heard Bear tell Max, "Stay with him."

The bed dipped next to him, and then Max said, "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

 _Hope y'all like it! By the way Bear is loosely based off a character on TV, any guesses?_

 _More soon..._


	10. Chapter 10

_Hello everyone! There were some good guesses for Bear, but I loosely based her off of Michonne from The Walking Dead._

 _Also WARNING for this chapter: some sexual content so head's up._

* * *

Max slowly walked up the stairs to her apartment; Rocky followed even slower behind her. They had just finished a 48 hour shift in Command, and they were exhausted.

It'd been a little over a week since Max had gone to visit OC and had come back to find Alec on the floor. Her heart had dropped seeing him like that, and she had refused to really leave his side for a couple of days. Alec had put his foot down though, and said they both couldn't be out of commission; TC needed one of them around to take care of any crisis that popped up.

He'd promised to rest up, and he had actually kept his promise. She knew he wanted to be ready for their meet with the mayor. Their meet was tomorrow and Alec was ready thanks to his rest.

Max was beyond relieved that he would be by her side tomorrow. If things took a turn for the worse, he would keep a cool head and he'd have her back no matter what.

"See ya in the mornin', Boss," Rocky said, his voice tired.

"Goodnight Rocky," Max replied, turning to her door as Rocky turned to his.

Max walked in and kicked off her shoes. She looked around the dark living room and immediately spotted Bear sitting on the sofa. She wasn't surprised; Bear had been here every day when Max couldn't be around. She definitely felt better having Bear there, but she was surprised that Alec allowed it.

Max walked further into the room, and then asked, "He know you're here tonight?"

Bear nodded and slowly got to her feet. "He's asleep now."

"Did he have any nightmares yet?" Max asked quickly. She knew he tried to hide it, and he did a really good job most of the time, but she'd gotten better at figuring it out.

He'd let slip that the nightmares had stayed away the first time she'd slept with him, so she'd stayed with him the next night too and nothing happened. But the night after that, she hadn't been tired and had done some work in the living room while he slept.

She had heard the bed creak a few times, like he was tossing and turning in his sleep. She had gotten up to check on him and found him tangled in the sheets, covered in sweat, and his muscles were so tense she thought he had probably been sore the next day.

She hadn't been able to wake him up and break him out of his nightmare so she had tried something else. She had climbed onto the bed with him and slowly started untangling him from the sheets. She'd trailed her fingers through his slightly damp hair until he finally started to relax. She went back to the living room and grabbed her work, and then halfway sat up next to him. She leaned against the headboard with her leg pressed against his arm so he knew she was there.

He had ended up turning and snuggling against her. He used her stomach as a pillow and she rested her hand at the back of his head, her fingers threaded through his hair.

It'd been so funny seeing him wake up and realize she was with him. He'd looked so surprised, but he didn't pull away from her. But he also wouldn't tell her what his nightmare had been about.

He had turned his face against her stomach and just shook his head in refusal. She knew they had something to do with Manticore, but she had no idea what.

"Not so far," Bear answered her earlier question. "But it's early…"

"Thanks for staying," Max said sincerely.

"I'm more than happy to do it," Bear answered.

"You better go get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow," Max said after a moment.

Bear nodded, "You get some sleep too, ok?"

"I will," Max reassured as Bear left the apartment.

Max started back to Alec's room; she was going to check on him really quick, and then try to get some sleep herself. She didn't really think she would though. She would be keeping an ear out just in case Alec had a nightmare, and probably wouldn't sleep much.

Max cracked open the door and peeked inside. Alec was lying on his stomach with his face pressed against his pillow. The covers were pulled to about halfway up his bare back. Max knew almost instantly that he wasn't asleep; his breathing was too shallow and the muscles in his back looked too tense.

"You're supposed to be asleep already," Max said after Alec didn't make any move to reveal he was awake.

"You were supposed to get back two hours ago," Alec shot back, his voice muffled against his pillow.

"I got held up…"

Alec sighed, and then pushed himself up and twisted so he was sitting up and facing her. "Y'know, you need to get some sleep too, so you aren't moody tomorrow…"

Max scowled at being called moody, but only said, "I was just about to go to bed."

Alec patted the spot next to him, silently telling her to join him. She glared at him even though she'd been sleeping with him off and on the past week.

"Max, c'mon, you know you won't get any sleep otherwise. You'll just lay there and listen just in case, so you might as well stay here."

Max thought about it for a second, and then decided he was right. She walked over and climbed onto the bed where she was starting to consider as her spot.

She looked over at him, expecting him to somehow make contact with her, but he just lay down again with his back to her. He'd never purposefully crossed the invisible line of the bed while they slept together. She had always been the one to cross the line; resting her head on his chest or wrapping her arm around his waist, but he hadn't ever consciously done those things. He'd done them while he was either asleep or mostly asleep, but he'd never tried to push her too far. He always let her make the move if she wanted to while they were in bed together.

That was the opposite of how she would have thought he would behave. She had thought he'd be very touchy and she wouldn't ever want to be near him, but he was a perfect gentleman. Almost too much of a gentleman in her opinion.

Max tried to ignore him for now, and lay down with her back to him. She tried to sleep for a while, but she had gotten used to the warmth of his skin against hers and his heart beating against her ear. Hearing him breathe and feeling the ridges of his muscles beneath her fingers.

She huffed, and then turned back towards him. She pulled on his shoulder until he lay on his back and she fit herself against him; her head on his chest and her arm across his waist. He didn't argue with her, in fact, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she reveled in his warmth.

She sighed in contentment; it was amazing how perfectly they seemed to fit together. Alec seemed to be more comfortable now too. His breathing almost instantly slowed to the rhythm it was when he slept and his muscles were completely relaxed.

Max listened to his heart beat in his chest and slowly dropped off to sleep.

* * *

An annoyingly loud beeping was what woke Max up in the morning. It took her a minute to figure out it was an alarm clock and by the time she figured it out, Alec was already awake.

He turned towards her and she was suddenly enveloped in his warmth, pressed against his chest with both of his arms around her. He stretched a little bit, and then the beeping suddenly stopped. He must have been able to reach the alarm clock to turn it off.

He dropped onto his back again, and Max instantly felt the loss of his warmth. She looked up at him and met his bright green eyes looking back at her.

"You sleep ok?" Alec asked, his voice deeper with sleep. She could feel his chest rumble as he spoke and she couldn't stop her small smile.

"Yeah. You?" Max asked quietly. She hadn't woken up in the middle of the night, so she hoped he didn't have a nightmare instead of her just missing it.

Alec smiled though and said, "Slept through the whole night." It was quiet for a minute and Max just relaxed back against Alec, but he seemed tense for some reason. "Max…" Alec started out hesitantly. He'd never really sounded hesitant before and his tone drew her gaze back to him. "…I need to tell you something…"

His heart was nearly pounding out of his chest and when she looked at him, he would look at her for a moment, and then his gaze would land somewhere else. He was nervous, she suddenly realized. He sat up a little and brought her up with him.

"I know we only have a fake relationship, but I…um, I really…" Alec ran his free hand through his hair, and then rubbed the back of his neck where his barcode was. "I, um…I actually like…"

Max stopped him suddenly by pressing her lips against his. She really hoped she wasn't wrong; she thought he was going to say he liked her which was enough for her. He held her closer with the arm that was around her shoulders and put his other hand against her neck and jaw to angle her better.

She turned a little so she could wrap her legs around his waist and practically sat in his lap and brought one of her hands up to tangle in his short hair. She opened her mouth a little and he instantly deepened the kiss.

He slowly started to reach for the hem of her shirt, and then broke off their kiss for just a second so he could pull it completely off. He kissed her again as soon as the shirt was out of the way and now she was sitting in his lap in just a bra. They both still had pants on, but she didn't think it would stay that way for long.

Alec surprised her, and she was suddenly on her back with him over her. He met her lips again, but this time she took control of the kiss. He seemed a little surprised, but he smiled against her and let her take them wherever she wanted to go. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him to her heart's content.

He broke off their little make out session after a few minutes, but then started to trail kisses down her neck to her collarbone. He nipped her with his teeth just a little bit, but the sensation had her tangling her hand in his hair again and letting out a quiet sigh of pleasure. He smiled against her skin, knowing exactly how this was affecting her and she knew right then that he was going to tease her mercilessly.

He was holding himself up on his elbows, but he lowered himself just a little to press against her as he brushed light kisses across her collarbone so he could reach the other side. She took a deep breath and her breasts pressed against his chest for just a moment.

He lifted himself a little bit and she almost groaned in protest, but his mouth was against her skin again almost instantly. He moved to the middle of her chest, and then nipped a little at the bow in the center of her bra.

Alec's hand slowly moved under her as he kissed up the slope of her breast. She was breathing heavier now, but she wanted more. She didn't want his talented lips to leave her and she regretted not doing this sooner.

Alec skillfully unhooked her bra, but then he shot a quick glance up to make sure she was still ok with this. She looked back at him like 'what are you waiting for?' He smirked, and then started kissing her again.

He was just starting to slide off the straps of her bra when they heard a loud knock on their front door. Alec froze, but Max said breathlessly, "Ignore it…"

Alec looked up at her, and then abandoned his work. He gave her a lingering kiss on her lips, and then said quickly, "Can't. We're already late."

Max groaned in disbelief and muttered, "This can't be happening…"

"We can pick it up where we left off later," Alec promised. He got up before she could disagree and she glared at him.

"What are you doing?" Max asked when he tossed her shirt to her and started for the door.

"I've gotta take a cold shower," Alec said with a small smirk. "I'd say you could join me, but that would defeat the purpose…"

Max threw her shirt back at him, but he disappeared before the shirt was even halfway there. She flopped back on the bed and stayed there until she heard the shower turn on.

There was another knock on the door and Max groaned again. "Why did the meeting have to be today?" She muttered to herself in frustration.

She finally rolled out of bed and went to her room to pull on some fresh clothes. It only took her a minute, and then she went to the door to find Rocky and Bear both ready to go.

"What took you so long, Boss?" Rocky asked in amusement. Bear was standing beside Rocky with a knowing smile and Max narrowed her eyes at both of them.

"We overslept," Alec suddenly said from the hallway. He only had a towel around his waist and Max turned her glare to him, knowing that he was doing this to her on purpose. He winked at her, and then walked back to his room.

"Uh huh," Bear said with a smile, her tone clearly saying that she didn't believe that for a second.

"Would you like us to call the Mayor and reschedule so you guys can…finish?" Rocky asked with a smirk.

"I would say it was more continue, and then finish," Bear threw in.

"Oh, right," Rocky said, his eyebrows bouncing up and down.

"Enough," Max snarled.

"Hey, we wouldn't have heard anything if you two hadn't 'overslept'," Rocky defended.

"Everyone ready?" Alec asked happily as he walked back to them.

"Just waiting for you," Bear replied, still smiling.

"Well, I think we're ready," Alec said with a quick glance to Max.

She rolled her eyes at him, and then brushed by Rocky and Bear. "Let's go."

* * *

The Mayor was a short, balding man without an interesting bone in his body. Max couldn't remember anything about the man even though he'd been mayor for a while; she couldn't even remember the guy's name. Max was more concerned with Alec by her side than with the Mayor or his six security guys.

The Mayor had agreed to their terms; the meeting was just inside their gates and she had four people on her security detail. Alec, Rocky, Bear, and Carter were all there to keep her safe, but she was just ready for this meeting to be over. She had better things to do right now.

"Isn't Logan supposed to be here?" Alec leaned towards her to whisper in her ear. She and Alec were both sitting at the conference table across from the Mayor while Bear and Rocky stood slightly behind them and Carter stood to the side to keep an eye on the entire room.

Max frowned and looked around the room, but didn't see him. He was supposed to be there and it was weird that he wasn't. She hadn't even really thought about him until Alec brought him up, but she felt that she hadn't really missed him.

"I thought so…" Max said slowly. "He must have had something to do…" She shrugged and made the mistake of looking back at Alec. His green eyes met hers and she nearly got lost looking at him.

The Mayor suddenly cleared his throat and Max shook her head slightly and looked back at him. "I had thought Mr. Cale would be joining us, but apparently not," he said, his tone conveying his disapproval.

Max ignored him and jumped right in, "We need to talk about the fact that we're trapped here and can't leave without the possibility of getting killed."

The Mayor looked shocked that she'd just come right out with it, but he quickly schooled his features back into the unfazed politician. "The public does not feel safe with dangerous experiments running amuck. But this was set up as much to protect you as it was to protect them."

"How so!?" Max asked in disbelief. "We're living like animals in here because you people can't face the fact that your government created us and now you're afraid of us." Alec's hand suddenly rested against her knee to help keep her calm. She reached under the table and grabbed his hand with hers.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," the Mayor said easily. "Maybe we can come to some sort of agreement." Max narrowed her eyes, not trusting him, but she let him talk. "We could release some of you, as long as the majority agreed to…testing."

Max and Alec both stood up in outrage. Their movement made the Mayor's security guys pull their guns, and then before Max knew it her people were pointing guns at the Mayor. She and the Mayor were the only ones without guns, but what he had suggested was not happening. Max had half a mind to shoot the man herself for even suggesting it, but she knew that wouldn't be the right way to handle this.

"I mean no disrespect, we just feel that we could learn more about you and that would give you a place in this world," the Mayor tried to placate.

"This meeting is over," Max said simply.

The Mayor's eyes narrowed, but he eventually nodded and motioned for his men to leave. Max watched them go, but her people still didn't relax their guard, until Alec lowered his gun.

"Well, that was a bust," Alec muttered after a moment.

"No kidding," Max replied.

She turned from the door and faced Alec instead. He gave her a sad smile and she returned the smile until he suddenly went on alert.

"Get down!" Alec yelled.

A second later he was tackling her to the ground as something crashed through the window, and then exploded when it hit the hallway. They were thrown to the side at the force of the explosion, but Alec was shielding her from anything that could hurt her.

Max's ears were ringing, but she couldn't move since Alec was on top of her. It was completely silent in the room and Alec didn't loosen his grip on her. She was afraid that he'd been hurt, but she couldn't be sure until the dust and smoke settled and she could actually look at him.

Max waited a moment, and then slowly turned in Alec's arms to face him. He was looking back at her, concern clear in his eyes.

"You ok?" He asked softly when she turned to face him. She nodded and quickly ran her hands over him to see if he was hurt anywhere.

"Are you hurt?" Max asked quickly. She couldn't find any blood, but that didn't mean anything.

"I'm fine," Alec said, his tone clearly showing his amazement.

"Are you sure?" Max asked.

Alec scowled at her and said, "Yes, I'm sure."

She looked over his shoulder, but something was blocking her view of the rest of the room. "You think everyone else is ok?"

"Only one way to find out…" Alec replied, slowly sitting up. He got up to his knees so he could look over the desk, but effectively kept Max on the ground just in case there was still a threat. He was straddling her waist and she had to remind herself for a second that they had just been attacked and now wasn't a good time.

"Stay here," Alec commanded as he got to his feet. Max propped herself up on her elbows and rolled her eyes. She ignored him and got up anyway when he picked his way over the wrecked desk. "Max," Alec said on a sigh when he saw her following him. "I told you to stay there."

"Yeah, and I ignored you," Max replied with a challenge.

"Y'know, it's you they're gonna be after, which is why I wanted you to stay under cover," Alec said slowly.

"I need to make sure everyone's ok, so shut up and let's get to looking," Max replied.

Alec threw his head back in annoyance, but he didn't argue with her anymore. The room was hardly recognizable thanks to the explosion, and Alec was very slowly making his way through the wreckage. Max figured he was testing the floor before he took each step which was actually a good idea. It would not be fun to fall through to the next floor down.

A sudden cough had both of them snapping their attention in the direction it had come from. Rocky suddenly sat up, dumping a piece of the ceiling off of him, but he seemed to be ok. He was pushed to the side though after a moment, and then Bear appeared, glaring at him.

"Your job was to protect Max and my job was to protect Alec," Bear said in annoyance. "You tackling me to the ground prevented both of us from doing our jobs."

"I'm so sorry that I just saved your life," Rocky replied sarcastically. "Besides, Alec had already gotten to Max before I could."

"Wait, your job was to protect Alec?" Max asked Bear in confusion.

She shot a quick look to Alec, but he was looking at Bear like he was trying to tell her to keep quiet.

"Yes, I am Alec's bodyguard," Bear said, ignoring Alec completely. Alec threw his head back again and groaned. "But, I couldn't do my job because _somebody_ tackled me!"

Max looked to Alec in surprise at finding out that Bear was actually his bodyguard. "You assigned yourself a bodyguard?" Max asked in amusement.

"No. She assigned herself," Alec replied shortly.

There was another cough that brought their conversations to a halt and Carter suddenly got up from a pile of what used to be the door.

"What was that?" Carter asked as he made his way to the group.

"As soon as the Mayor left, someone appeared outside and shot whatever that was at us," Alec answered.

"We need to go," Max immediately stated. "If they think we're dead, they might attack the rest of TC. Kick us while we're down kinda thing…"

Alec nodded in agreement and they all took off to the stairs. They used the tunnel of the building instead of going outside just in case someone was out there waiting for them and ran to Command. They'd left Mole in charge since they were both going to be at the meeting and Max just hoped he hadn't declared war just yet. She still wanted to try and prevent it coming to that even though they had just been attacked.

"Mole!" Max called out as soon as they were within earshot.

Mole shot her a look of surprise at seeing her alive, "We heard the explosion and Gunner said that someone blew up your building and he didn't see you guys leave."

"We got lucky," Max replied. "Have they made a move yet?"

"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time," Mole said. "Our people are all under cover, but they're ready as soon as you give the word."

"I don't want to attack," Max said. Mole rolled his eyes like he knew she was going to say that, but he didn't argue with her.

"Max!"

Everyone turned in surprise as Logan appeared, running towards her and calling her name with a huge smile on his face.

"Oh great…" Alec muttered under his breath.

Logan slowed as he got closer and looked at her in concern, "What happened?" She looked down at herself and saw that her clothes were filthy and dust covered her skin. She looked at Alec and the others and saw they looked the same.

"Let's just say the meeting didn't exactly go as planned," Max said slowly.

"Are you ok?" Logan asked.

"I'm fine…Logan, where were you?" Max asked.

"Something wonderful happened," Logan said, his eyes bright with excitement. "It'll be better if I just show you."

"Wha-" Max started to ask in confusion. But before she could even finish asking, Logan grabbed her and sealed his lips to hers.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	11. Chapter 11

Alec reacted without even thinking when he saw Logan kiss Max. He shoved the computer geek away from her and everyone looked at him in surprise. He was surprised at himself; he usually tried to keep a cool head and not react because something pissed him off. He had been that way because of Manticore; you couldn't react out of anger, you had to be a mindless soldier and do what you were told.

But you couldn't just go around kissing people because you'd found the cure. He should have taken it slower and just told Max he'd found the cure, but he hadn't. He'd forced himself on her, which pissed him off.

"I think we all need to have a little chat," Alec growled after a moment.

He brushed past Mole and led the way to one of the conference rooms. He knew Max, Logan, Bear, and Rocky were all following him. He turned at the door and looked at Rocky and Bear; he silently ordered them to wait outside. They both looked like they didn't want to follow the order, but they didn't argue with him. Max and Logan went on in and Alec closed the door behind them.

"Ok, obviously you found the cure," Alec started out as soon as they were all inside. Max was looking between him and Logan, but she looked a little shell-shocked by the events. "Which you so helpfully demonstrated for us instead of just telling us…"

"How did you find it?" Max asked.

"I finally got ahold of another scientist from Manticore and he found the cure," Logan said in excitement. "Now we can finally be together!"

"Logan…" Max started out slowly. "Me and Alec are in a relationship…" Logan frowned back at her and Alec just sighed in annoyance.

"We were in a fake relationship," Alec said bluntly.

"I knew it!" Logan said, "I knew you two couldn't be in a real relationship, you two hate each other."

"It was real," Max said, throwing a sharp look over at Alec.

"No, it wasn't," Alec said, glaring back at her. "I agreed to be in a fake relationship to keep you two away from each other."

"But it was starting to be real," Max argued through clenched teeth. Logan was looking between them in confusion, but Alec kept his glare trained on Max. She could be pissed at him all she wanted, but it wasn't going to change the fact that they weren't actually together. She had only wanted him to help her out by keeping Logan away to keep him safe. Now, they didn't have to worry about that anymore.

"Max, I'm not going to be the reason that you stay away from Logan anymore," Alec said after a moment. "I don't want you to resent me for this because I actually like being around you. And if we're going to run this place, we can't be at each other's throats. But you and Logan never had a chance because of me, and now you do."

"Alec, what are you saying?" Max asked in confusion.

"I'm saying you need to make this decision for yourself," Alec stated. "If you want to be with me, fine. If you want to be with Logan, then that's fine too. I know I messed up your relationship and now you have a chance to fix that. But no one can make this decision for you." Max looked between him and Logan, but she didn't say anything.

It was quiet for a minute as they just around at each other. Alec finally nodded once, and then turned for the door. "Good talk. I'll catch up with you later."

"Where are you going?" Max asked, starting to follow him to the door.

"In case you forgot, we're kinda in the middle of a crisis here," Alec said with a smirk. "You two can do whatever you want, but I'm gonna go try and deal with it instead of worrying about who's in a relationship with who."

Max rolled her eyes and ended up stomping ahead of him. They all went back to Command and Alec did his best to ignore Logan still following them. Rocky and Bear went with them too and they all went over to Mole.

He rolled his eyes when they walked up, and then growled, "Are you done with your love drama? Can we get back to the real issue now?"

"Just tell us what's going on," Alec said impatiently. They needed to know if they needed to get ready for war or if the missile earlier was just the work of a rogue transgenic hater.

"So far it's quiet," Mole grumbled around his cigar. "We don't have any intel yet on who the missile launcher is or if they are part of White's group or part of the military. No one's attacked us yet, but we've got eyes on the fence. If anyone makes a move, we'll be ready."

"How're supplies?" Alec asked, easily falling back into the grove of things. It'd been a while since he'd been in Command, but this was second nature to him.

"The runs have slowed down, but we have enough supplies for now if we get stuck in here," Mole replied.

"We should sneak out of here and change locations…" Alec muttered. "Go somewhere that isn't so public…"

"That's gonna be impossible," Mole said. "There's too many of us now to get away with that kind of thing."

"I know, it was just wishful thinking," Alec said with a small smile. Mole glanced over at him and smirked, and then Alec said, "Alright, let me know when you find out who was behind this." He turned to Max and said, "You stay in Command since I really think you were the target. I'm going to go towards the fence to see what's going on."

Alec turned to leave, but Max caught his arm on the way by. "Be careful, ok?"

"Always am," Alec said with a cocky smile.

"Alec, I mean it," Max said seriously.

"He's not going alone," Bear suddenly reassured. Max shot her a grateful look and Alec rolled his eyes. He didn't argue though and he and Bear left Command together.

* * *

It was raining. Of course it was raining. Alec hated the rain; he hated being cold and wet and here he was living in Seattle. He and Bear had been keeping watch for a few hours now and he was miserable. Nothing was going on outside of the fence so not only was he drenched to the bone, but he was bored too.

"You look like a drowned cat," Bear teased. "You look miserable."

"I hate the rain," Alec muttered with a scowl.

"You hate the rain or you hate the fact that Logan's back?" Bear asked softly.

"Both."

Bear chuckled, "Max loves you, I would not be worried if I was you."

"You don't know their relationship like I do," Alec shot back, keeping his focus on the fence. "They have a history of pining over each other. Y'know, they actually probably won't get together because they'll be too busy talking about their feelings or drinking wine."

Bear laughed at that and lightly pushed him over. Alec couldn't help but laugh too as he tried to keep his balance.

"How about you and Rocky?" Alec asked with a smile. He wanted to change the subject away from himself and get back at Bear.

Bear rolled her eyes and groaned, "We are not together."

"That's not what I'm picking up," Alec said in amusement. "You two are together all the time."

"That's because _someone_ decided to make us roommates," Bear accused.

"Would it be better if I told you I made a little cash on that deal," Alec asked with a smirk.

"He paid you to put us together!" Bear exclaimed in disbelief.

Alec shrugged, "He just nudged a little bit and then gave me back some money that he owed me, and then some…"

"That sneaky bastard," Bear said, but she sounded more amused than angry.

They were quiet for a minute, and then Alec asked, "Who do you think Max will pick?"

Bear put a light hand against his cheek, "Oh honey, it's no competition on who she should pick. You have nothing to worry about."

Alec looked at her gratefully. He was a little reassured, but he still wasn't completely sold on who Max would pick. She had liked Logan a lot longer than she had liked him, and he was to blame for this whole situation in the first place.

"No more thinking about this," Bear said. "We need to figure out if that attack was from an organized party and if it's going to happen again."

Alec looked around for a second, and then decided they needed to pay someone a visit if they wanted any real answers. "C'mon, let's get on the other side and see if we can find anything." Bear agreed and they looked for the closest manhole.

* * *

Max watched Alec leave Command with Bear. She had been blindsided when Logan kissed her. She hadn't really thought about him for a week and now he had the cure. She didn't know what he had expected her to do, but her first instinct was to kick his ass for pulling that stunt.

Alec had pushed him off of her before she could do anything. And really, she'd been pretty shocked by the turn of events to react at all. She had thought that Alec would tell Logan to just back off; she hadn't been expecting him to tell her to make a decision.

She also was mad because this morning she thought he was going to admit that he liked her, but now he was saying that everything was fake. He made her furious, but she wasn't going to let him get away with this. She liked Logan, but she thought they had run their course.

She was glad that he'd found the cure since now she wouldn't be worried about accidentally killing him, but she wanted to stay with Alec. He was the one she turned to when the shit hit the fan, he made her laugh, kept her grounded, and fired her up. She didn't want to give all of that up when she'd barely even scratched the surface.

"Max," Logan said, bringing her attention back to Command. He reached out to touch her hand and she pulled away out of habit. His face fell with her rejection and she just barely stopped her eye roll. "Max, can I talk to you?" Logan asked quietly.

"Logan, I kind of have a lot going on right now," Max replied. "Someone just tried to kill us and we need to figure out who it was. Alec was right; we can deal with this later." She did need to talk to him about this, just not right now.

"Alright…" Logan finally replied. "What do you need me to do?"

"Find out who's behind this," Max said. "Then we'll go from there. Maybe it was just a rogue citizen, but I think it was someone higher up. My first guess would be the Mayor since this happened right after he left and he wanted us to surrender to testing…"

"He what?" Logan asked.

"He said he would release some of us as long as the majority agreed to testing," Max said with disgust. There was no way she would agree to that. They were never going to be the government's lab rats again. She was done with the whole lot of them.

"Max, I'm sorry," Logan said sincerely. "I didn't know he would do that when I set up the meeting."

"I know," Max replied. "It's ok. How could we know he was going to act that way?"

Logan nodded back, and then said, "I'll coordinate with Dix and see what we can figure out."

"Thanks Logan," Max said. He walked away to the band of computers and she couldn't help but feel relieved that he hadn't pushed more.

"Jeez that guy's timing sucks," Rocky muttered after a moment. Max couldn't help her smile as she turned and lightly smacked Rocky on the arm. "I'm not kidding!" Rocky said with a laugh. "You and Alec were finally getting along and admitting things, and then, this happens."

"It's not going to change anything," Max said with a small smile. She liked Alec and she knew that now. She just had to get it through his thick head that she liked him and everything would be great.

"Good," Rocky stated seriously. "Because I wasn't going to let this ship sink. I would've had to talk some sense into you if you'd decided to go with the nerd of the century."

"You might need to help me talk some sense into Alec," Max said, "He can be pretty thick headed sometimes."

"He just isn't used to people caring about him," Rocky said. "But of course I'll help."

Max smiled, "Now I just have to catch him again."

"He is a quick little shit," Rocky said in agreement.

* * *

Alec and Bear snuck around the government building until they were outside of the Mayor's office. Alec went to the window and listened closely. He could hear someone pacing, but it sounded like they were alone. Alec barely peeked into the window to see the Mayor was actually alone.

The phone suddenly rang and he lunged forward to answer it.

"Hello?"

Alec wished he was in the room so he could hear whoever the Mayor was talking to.

"Was it a success?"

He figured the Mayor was talking about the missile.

"What do you mean you don't know? What's happening? Are they panicking?"

They were highly trained super-soldiers and this guy thought one missile would send them into a panic? Alec had to hold in his laughter at how stupid this guy was.

"Then she must not be dead! If we can kill the leader then their whole operation should crumble."

So, they were after Max, Alec had been right.

"We need to get this situation under control. It's already a bigger embarrassment than we ever dreamed it would be and we need to get them where we can test them. How long until the next attempt?"

 _Please, please, please tell me your whole plan,_ Alec silently begged in his head.

"That's too long. If we can get one of them, maybe we can lure her out."

Of course the Mayor didn't tell him exactly when the next attack would be. And none of them would be stupid enough to be lured out and there was no way they would get them to talk. These people just didn't understand the concept of a genetically engineered super-soldier.

They had been trained in these kinds of situations; they had been captured and tortured in mock missions just to see if they would talk or not. They knew what would happen if they did talk, so they learned pretty quickly to just deal with the torture instead. It was pretty sad that torture was the better alternative.

"Call me when you've got something. I've got to go supervise a new shipment," the Mayor said, and then hung up.

Alec signaled for Bear to move out and they quickly moved away from the building. They walked far enough away so they wouldn't be overheard, and then stopped.

"So, corrupt Mayor, what a surprise," Bear deadpanned.

"Looks like we're gonna have to be even more careful now," Alec replied. "Make less supply runs and get extra patrols out…"

"We need to watch out for the next attack," Bear said.

Alec nodded in agreement, and then pulled out his phone. He dialed Command and he was disappointed to hear Mole's voice over the line.

"What?"

"It's the Mayor," Alec said without any introduction. "Me and Bear just overheard him talking on the phone and he said there's going to be another attack. They're after Max so keep her in Command and if they can't get Max they're going to try and catch one of us to lure her out. Obviously, don't let that happen."

"No kidding," Mole replied sarcastically. "You're just a wealth of information today Pretty Boy."

"Oh, c'mon Mole, you know you love me," Alec replied with a smile. "I'm your favorite and I know you'd miss me if I wasn't there."

"I'd only miss my supply of cigars," Mole grumbled. "Are you coming in or what? Princess is gettin' antsy."

"We're going to do a quick supply run while we're out. Can you send my team out here to meet us? We're over by the Mayor's office."

"Fine, but you better not take too long. Princess is trying to annoy me to death," Mole replied, and then he hung up without saying anything else.

"Please tell me we aren't going to do something stupid," Bear said after Alec hung up the phone. She looked over at him suspiciously, like she already knew what he was thinking.

"I just want to see what new shipment the guy was talking about, and then we can go home," Alec replied easily, trying to make it sound like he knew what he was doing.

"Alec…" Bear said in warning.

"We will only steal the stuff if we know for a fact that it's safe," Alec placated.

Bear looked like she didn't quite believe him, but she stayed with him as they waited for the rest of the team. It only took them about 15 minutes to get there, but it was only Lucky, Reggie, and Spark. Charlie had a broken arm and Sarah had just found out that she was pregnant.

"What's the plan, Boss?" Lucky asked with an excited smile. They hadn't been on a supply run in a long time thanks to him recovering. His team could have gone on runs without him, but they had refused. The loyalty was something Alec hadn't been expecting, but it was a nice feeling.

"We're gonna follow the slimy Mayor and see about some shipment that's supposed to come in," Alec said.

"Are we going to steal it?" Reggie asked. He let out a wicked smile at the thought.

"Only if it's safe," Alec said, shooting a quick look to Bear. She looked back at him, but he could tell that she still didn't think this was a good idea. "As soon as the Mayor leaves, we'll follow."

* * *

The Mayor led them to a warehouse outside of town. They followed silently, like the trained soldiers that they were. Alec had a bad feeling about this, but he couldn't stop his curiosity. He wanted to see what was in this shipment and if possible, he wanted to steal it.

He motioned for his team to stop, and they sat and kept a look out. Even though he wanted to steal whatever this was, he didn't want to rush into anything. But everything was quiet. The Mayor's car parked outside of the warehouse, and then he went in to wait for the shipment to arrive.

It was a few minutes later, and then a huge semi pulled up to the warehouse and backed into place. Alec couldn't tell what was in the truck, but there weren't very many people around guarding it. Whatever it was, it would probably help them in TC.

He started to move, but Bear put her hand against his chest to stop him. She looked at him and silently begged him to turn back. He looked back to the warehouse; it had one guard outside now, but the rest was quiet. He couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. Alec shook his head back at her and started to move. He heard Bear sigh behind him, but she followed after just a moment.

Alec walked with silent footsteps towards the warehouse. He was like a shadow moving along; he knew he couldn't be heard and he kept to the dark so he couldn't be seen. He loved the anticipation of the missions, sneaking around and almost playing a game with the target. He was good at staying invisible until the very last second, and then scaring the shit out of whoever the target was.

This wasn't any different. He stayed out of sight until he was right behind the guard, and then easily knocked him out. Bear helped him move the guard out of sight before they went to the warehouse door. Alec pushed the door open just a little bit so he could peek inside.

He didn't see anyone so they all slipped in without a sound. It was dark in the entryway, but Alec had no problem seeing in the dark. It was empty where they were, so they moved further into the warehouse. They could hear voices after they went a few steps, but it sounded like only two people were in the conversation.

Alec went into the main room, and then jumped up to the catwalk to see the entire room. Bear followed him up, but the rest of his team stayed on the ground. They spread out and waited for Alec's orders. He looked to the truck where the back door was open. There were a ton of boxes inside, but he couldn't see what was in them.

"What do you think?" Bear asked so only he could hear her.

"Can't tell what's in them…" Alec muttered back. "But there are only 4 people down there…"

"Alec, I don't think this is a good idea," Bear said again.

"It'll be fine," Alec reassured confidently.

He was just about to jump back down, but movement to the left caught his eye. Another man walked into the room wearing a military uniform. He was a General by the looks of the uniform and Alec's curiosity spiked again.

"Everything looks to be in order," the Mayor said once the General was next to him.

"Excellent," he replied. "We should be able to move in as soon as you give the word."

"Alec, please don't," Bear said as he started to move. "Let's just get back to TC."

"I wanna see what's in the truck," Alec stated. He got up and jumped over the railing, landing softly far below. Bear dropped down next to him even though he knew she hated this whole situation. Alec walked closer to the truck to try and see what was in the boxes.

"Don't take another step," the General suddenly called out, making Alec and Bear freeze. He turned around slowly to face them. He had seen some years and his eyes were cold and dark, sending a shiver down Alec's spine. Alec tensed, ready to make a move against him, but the General spoke again before he could. "I wouldn't do anything if I was you."

The General glanced behind Alec, and Alec looked back. Soldiers appeared out of the back room; all with guns trained on him and Bear. Lucky, Reggie, and Spark were pushed forward with guns pressed against the back of their heads.

"If you cooperate, we won't kill you," the General said.

Alec looked at Bear with a silent apology, and then he put his hands up in surrender.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	12. Chapter 12

_Hey everyone! I got this chapter done a lot faster than I thought! Hope you all like it!_

* * *

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," the Mayor sneered.

"I take offense to that," Alec quipped with a smirk.

"I don't care," the Mayor said with a wicked smile. "You're an abomination that doesn't have rights. You were made in a lab and that's where you belong."

"Cat's outta the bag now," Alec said with a shrug, and then he looked over at Bear and asked sarcastically, "Did you know we were made in a lab?" Bear scowled at him. He rolled his eyes back at her. He knew they were in a serious situation, but he couldn't help being sarcastic. It was his defense mechanism and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

The Mayor looked over at the General, and then nodded. The General motioned with his hand to his men and they started forward to him and Bear. Alec didn't fight them as they forced his arms behind his back and cuffed him.

"Pat them down too. I don't want any surprises," the General said. "Empty their pockets completely so they can't break free."

Alec looked up at the ceiling as rough hands patted his sides and pulled out his pockets. They easily found his weapons and pulled out the paperclips that were in his pocket. That was going to make it difficult to break out of the cuffs. He was also glad that he hadn't brought his favorite gun with him.

"You were almost too easy to catch," the Mayor said. "I figured I would be watched after the meeting and the attempt on your lives. I played into that and set up this trap, which you walked right into. And here I was, under the impression that you were supposed to be smart…"

Alec shrugged and smiled a little, "You know the saying…curiosity killed the cat…I couldn't help myself."

"That's excellent," the Mayor said with a laugh, "but we won't be killing you…you'll just wish you were dead."

"Oh c'mon," Alec said with a smile. "We shouldn't be fighting like cats and dogs. I actually have a friend who's part dog and we get along just fine, so the stereotype is false." The Mayor just looked at him like he was insane. "What, cat got your tongue?"

"I'm going to enjoy having you in custody," the Mayor finally said with a sneer.

"Bring it on," Alec challenged, letting his carefree act drop for just a second and showing them that he was ready for whatever they thought they could do. His eyes were hard as he stared down the Mayor, and the Mayor was the one to look away first. He smiled in victory.

"Enough with the chit chat," the General said impatiently.

Alec snickered, "He's definitely not getting any younger. We're wasting his golden years with our 'chit chat'. Although, I thought we had a nice banter going…"

The General strode forward and Alec braced himself. He took a hard punch to the side, but he was a little more dramatic than he needed to be. He collapsed against the General, his face pressed against the uniform.

"You've got a mouth on you," the General growled in his ear. "You won't be so cocky once we're done with you."

The General pushed him back, and Alec stumbled a little to catch his balance. "We'll see about that…you punch like a 5 year old…" He got a punch to the face for that one and he fell to the ground with the force of it. He glanced up at Bear and she rolled her eyes at him, and then huffed.

He was roughly forced back to his feet and pushed forward a little. "Get them on the truck," the General ordered with a smirk. Alec let him lead him to the truck that had brought him here in the first place. He was practically thrown inside and the rest of his team followed. The door was closed and locked as soon as they were all in, and they were stuck in the dark.

* * *

"Where the Hell is Alec?" Max asked as she stormed into Command. She'd just been outside to go look for him by the fence, but he wasn't there. Of course he would disappear when she needed to tell him something. She was drenched to the bone from walking around outside, and part of her thought that Alec had gone back to the apartment, but she'd checked there before she had gone to Command.

She knew he hated being wet; cat was his dominant animal gene and it really showed. She teased him when he complained about being wet, but she'd noticed other things too. He liked it when she ran her fingers through his hair and he leaned into her touch. He stretched like he was a cat after he'd been in one spot for too long. And he loved to sleep; he would take little catnaps and sometimes would even curl up like a cat.

She shook her head to clear these thoughts. He kept popping up, and although she found that she enjoyed thinking about him, she had other things she needed to worry about. They really needed to get to the bottom of who their missile launcher was and she hoped that Alec had some information.

"He went on a supply run," Mole replied, his tone clearly conveying how bored his was.

Max took a deep breath to keep herself calm. He might not be doing this to avoid her; he could actually have a lead on something. She just wished he would have talked to her before he went on another run. It could be a while before he got back and she wanted to talk to him now.

"Of course he did…" Max muttered. Mole and Rocky both chuckled, but she ignored them and went over to the bank of computers where Dix and Logan were. "What's the update?"

"Well Alec called a little bit ago and confirmed that it was the Mayor," Logan said.

Max glared over at Mole; he could've told her this when she had asked, but he didn't. "How did he know?"

"He overheard a phone conversation I guess," Logan said with a shrug. "But apparently you were the target and there's going to be another attempt at some point."

"So we'll keep a lookout," Max said. "Up the patrols and slow down the supply runs." She really wished Alec hadn't gone on a run right now. She would feel a lot better if he was here right now.

"Make sure Rocky stays with you too," Logan said. Rocky gave him a slight nod that signaled he wasn't going anywhere. "We don't know when the next attempt is going to be, but we need to keep you safe."

"I'll be fine," Max waved off. She turned from the computers, and then marched back over to Mole. "You talked to Alec and you didn't tell me!"

"You were annoying enough already, I didn't want to make it worse," Mole grumbled. Max started to say something, but Mole stopped her, "And no, I won't call back. He'll be back at some point, and then you two can kiss and make up."

Max rolled her eyes, and then turned away from him. Rocky followed her a short ways away, but he didn't leave more than an arm's length between them.

"Rocky, you can chill out a little bit, they aren't going to get me while we're in Command," Max said with a small smile.

Rocky shook his head, "I don't think so, Boss. There's been one attempt on you already, and I'm not letting anything happen to you if I can help it."

Max huffed out a laugh, but then patted his arm and got back to work.

* * *

"What they Hell was that?" Bear asked when the truck started moving. "It's bad enough that we're captured, but then you have to go and run your mouth…" She shook her head in disbelief, but Alec just chuckled.

He moved the pin that was hidden in his mouth that he'd pulled off of the General's uniform. He put it between his teeth and smiled at her. Bear laughed when she saw the pin and shook her head again. "So, it was all just a distraction." She turned around and he dropped the little pin into her hands so she could work on getting the handcuffs off.

"It was pretty easy since he had so many on his uniform," Alec said. He looked around the back of the truck to try to find a way out of there. "They really should be more careful around us…they just don't know any better."

"Good thing too," Bear said. "Max is going to kill us both as it is, but at least we might get out of here before she has to rescue us…"

"She won't even know that we're gone," Alec replied, shooting a scowl over at Bear for thinking he couldn't get them out of this.

"She's going to notice that bruise," Bear said, looking pointedly at his left cheek.

"It'll fade pretty fast," Alec waved off. "He barely even hit me."

Bear got her cuffs off, and then started on his. He rubbed his wrists as soon as he was free, and then started over to the boxes in the truck while Bear went over to Lucky. Alec still couldn't stop his curiosity as he looked in one of the boxes.

"Your curiosity is going to get you killed someday," Bear called out over her shoulder. Alec just looked at her in disbelief, and then went back to the box.

"Man, it's not even anything good," Alec said in disappointment. Bear looked over at him and he pulled out a romance novel. "We almost got tortured for a crappy book."

Bear laughed at him. She handed Lucky the pin so he could free the others, and then walked over to Alec. She grabbed the book out of his hand and flipped through it. "This one isn't really that bad…"

Alec glanced over at her incredulously, "You've read this?"

Bear shot him a mischievous smile, but didn't answer him. He did see her slip the book inside her jacket when she thought he wasn't looking. He chuckled a little and went back to looking for a way out of there. Bear stayed at the box for a minute and looked through a few more of the books.

"You see a way out of here?" Lucky asked him as he walked around.

"Not yet…" Alec muttered.

"So we're trapped here…" Spark said in defeat. "They've captured us and now we're going back to be tested…"

"Not if I have anything to say about it. I'm going to make it so it's like herding cats before I give in," Alec said without even thinking about it. "We're going to fight back. We're not going to be tested or experimented on any more."

"Alec, you're being unbearable," Bear said, shooting him a smirk from across the room.

Alec cracked up laughing, but Bear looked at him in confusion so he said, "Bear made a bear pun…and it was the cat's meow!"

Bear walked over to him and pushed him while he laughed. She couldn't fight off the smile that was spreading across her face though, so Alec thought he would tease her some more.

"C'mon Bear, laugh a little. Don't just grin and bear it." He tried really hard to say that without laughing, but the look on Bear's face made him lose it. "C'mere and give me a big bear hug!"

Bear really did shove him for that one, but he still couldn't stop laughing. She tried to scowl at him, but she was still fighting off a smile. He knew she wouldn't stay mad at him for long.

The truck came to a sudden stop that knocked them off of their feet. Alec got back up as fast as he could and motioned for everyone to get into position. They would have to fight their way to freedom, but they were raised for this kind of thing. Bear was right beside him as the back door was unlocked.

"If you get a chance at freedom, you take it. Understood?" Alec whispered to his team. Reggie and Spark nodded, but Lucky and Bear looked like they wanted to argue. "That's an order," Alec stated. Lucky reluctantly nodded, but Bear kept her sharp gaze on him.

"Alec, please bear in mind that you are not actually a cat and you do not have nine lives," Bear pleaded with him.

"You made another bear pun," Alec whispered with a smirk, but then he became more serious and said, "Be careful, ok?"

"As long as you are careful too," Bear replied.

Alec nodded once, and then looked at his team again. "Make the fur fly and don't let them win this cat fight," he muttered as the door started to open. Bear scowled at him, but they both got in position to fight.

* * *

"They've been gone a long time," Max muttered as she paced around Command.

"Relax," Rocky tried to soothe. "They're probably just holed up somewhere. There was probably a patrol or something."

"Something's not right and you know it," Max shot back. She couldn't help but chew on her nail. She just knew something was wrong. She didn't know how she knew, but Alec was in trouble. She hoped she was just overreacting, but she knew Alec. He could find trouble like it was nobody's business. The only thing that made her feel better was the fact that Bear was with him.

"There's nothing we can do right now," Rocky said. "They're after you, and if you leave then you'll just be playing right into them. Alec can take care of himself; he's been in pretty rough situations before and come out just fine."

Max sighed, "I know he has…I'm used to having him around, and without him, it's weird…I'm just worried is all…" She sat down across from him and tried not to pout. She looked around Command and watched as everyone went about their business. It was pretty busy in there since everyone was trying to figure out what was going on.

She scanned the faces of the people she considered as friends and family. Everyone had stayed and she considered all of them friends, but some of them were family to her. Mole was like a grouchy uncle, Dix was like a cousin, and Joshua and Rocky were like brothers to her. She loved her family, no matter how strange and dysfunctional it was. She would do anything for them.

The only thing that was missing from her family, besides Alec right now, was her unit mates. They had been her first family, but she didn't know where most of them were now or if they were even alive. She knew where Zack was and she knew Tinga and Ben were dead, but she didn't know about the others. She had hoped they would hear about TC and would eventually come find her since she couldn't find them. But she would just have to continue to hope that they would come. She definitely couldn't go right now, but after this was finished she might be able to look. She missed her old family, but she loved her knew family too.

She looked around again, and then frowned when she saw someone she didn't recognize. They were wandering around like they were lost and Max thought maybe they were new. She didn't know everyone in TC like Alec did, but she almost always knew everyone in Command.

"Who's that?" Max asked Rocky after a moment. She pointed over to the new guy and Rocky looked to where she was pointing. He frowned too and shook his head.

"Don't know," he said with a shrug. "Looks like a new guy to me…"

Max stood up, "Guess we should go talk to him and help him get settled."

"Up to you, Boss," Rocky said with a smile. He got up though and followed her over to whoever the new guy was. Max walked right up to him, and he looked up at her in surprise. He looked like an X5; he was tall with blonde hair, and an average build.

"Hi, I'm Max. What's your name?" She asked with a friendly smile.

"X5-619," he replied timidly.

"We need to give you a real name," Max said. "None of us go by our designations here…what do you like to do?"

"I'm a pretty good shot…" he said after a moment.

"Do you _like_ to shoot?" Max asked, trying to make sure he actually liked to do this instead of just being good at it since Manticore made them that way. None of them really knew what they liked to do since they had never been allowed to see what they liked to do.

He shrugged, "I don't know…"

"Well, how about we call you…Buck? It could be for buckshot or it could be for something else too?" Max asked. He brightened up a little at the name and Max smiled at him.

"You said your name's Max?" Buck asked after a minute. Max nodded. "And you're the leader?"

"Yep…well sort of I guess…technically," Max rambled. She was just about to ask him how he got there when Buck started to reach into his jacket.

Things suddenly seemed to move in slow motion as Buck pulled out a gun. Rocky started to push her out of the way, but a shot rang out. Max felt a sharp burn at the right side of her chest. Another shot rang out, but she didn't feel the bullet hit her as she was brought to the ground by Rocky.

She found that she was having some trouble breathing as she lay on the ground. Rocky was next to her, but he wasn't moving. Max looked back to where Buck had been and saw a group of transgenics tackle him to the ground. She was a little fuzzy on what had happened, but she couldn't really move to ask anyone either.

She looked back to the ceiling and tried to draw in a breath. She gurgled some, and then started to let her eyes slip closed. She kind of needed to cough, but her chest really hurt so she didn't think that was a good idea. She really wished Alec was here now. He would take care of things; he would know how to take care of this. And if he was here, then she wouldn't have to worry about Mole just declaring war on the ordinaries.

Someone shook her shoulders and she blinked up to see Mole above her. There was pressure on her chest, but she didn't know where that came from. Mole's mouth was moving, but the sound was just muffled. He was looking at her with worried eyes and his mouth moved some more. She wanted to tell him to not declare war, but she found that she didn't have the strength to talk.

Max was disappointed to see that it was Mole with her instead of Alec. If it had been Alec she would have fought harder to hear what he was saying. He would be looking at her with his beautiful green eyes and telling her to hang on. She felt so stupid for not telling him how she felt sooner. They could've been together this whole time, and then he would be with her now. But he wasn't here, so she didn't fight to pay attention to what Mole was saying. She just wanted Alec. Her eyes closed again, but she didn't fight to open them.

* * *

There were more soldiers ready for them than Alec thought there would be. But this was their only hope at freedom. Once they were wherever the Mayor wanted them, it was going to be a lot harder to get free. They would be put in cells and experimented on and once that started they were going to be weaker and it would be harder to escape. They needed to win this fight.

Alec was the first one to jump out. He tackled the first soldier he saw to the ground, surprising the entire group. He managed to take out two of them, before they even knew what was going on. Bear stayed close to him as they fought their way through.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Reggie and Spark break through the soldiers and take off running. He knew they would be able to disappear as long as the fighting was still going. Alec looked back just in time to see Lucky take a cheap shot to the temple and crumble to the ground.

Alec made his way over to him and picked him up. He shoved him off to Bear and pushed her a little to an opening that he suddenly saw. She still refused to leave so Alec called out, "I'll be right behind you!"

He forced another opening and Bear slipped through with Lucky over her shoulder. Alec started to follow her, but he saw another soldier line up a shot at Bear. Alec tackled the soldier to the ground before he could get the shot off.

He started to get up, but one of the soldiers they had already taken down jumped on him. He rolled with the other soldier and tried to push the guy off of him, but another one piled on. He took an elbow to the face, but he didn't stop fighting.

He was released suddenly, but he knew something worse was coming. A second later, a course of electricity shot through him and had him curling in on himself to try and lessen the pain. The shock was pulled away and he relaxed without even meaning to. He had no control of his muscles now thanks to the electric shock.

Hands suddenly pulled him to his feet, but he couldn't fight anymore. Electricity was still coursing through his veins, sending out shocks with every beat of his heart. His captors' grips were loose; they knew he didn't have any fight left in him.

Alec barely glanced up and saw Bear give him a sad look. She still had Lucky over her shoulder and she looked like she was about to drop Lucky to come help him. He shook his head just a little, and then she disappeared.

He breathed a sigh of relief; at least his team was safe. He could take whatever happened to him, and it would be easier to escape with just himself to worry about. Besides that, now they couldn't use anyone against him to force him to talk.

"Not so cocky now," the General drawled as he walked into Alec's line of sight.

Alec shrugged and used all the strength he had left to lift his head up so he could meet the General's gaze, "I dunno…I think I could still take you…"

The General smiled, humoring him. "We'll see about that…" he muttered, and then he reached for his gun and hit Alec with the butt of it, instantly knocking him out.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	13. Chapter 13

"Someone get Dr. Shankar over here! Now!" Mole shouted throughout Command. "We've got two down!"

Max's blood was slipping through his fingers at an alarming rate, and Rocky was next to her but he wasn't moving. Dix ran over and turned Rocky onto his back; blood was pouring out of his right side, under his arm.

Max looked up at him and it looked like she was trying to talk. Mole put some more pressure on the wound, "Max, don't try to talk. The Doc's gonna be on the way soon, so you just gotta hold on."

He turned and looked for where the shooter was. Rosco and Chopper had him in custody and they looked to him for orders. "Take him to room C and tie him up and keep guards posted inside and at the door," Mole ordered. They nodded and drug him off, but Mole turned his attention back to Max.

She gurgled a little as she tried to talk. "Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid while you're out," Mole tried to reassure. "You just gotta hold on or else I might change my mind." He turned to look at the group of transgenics around him and yelled, "Where's that doctor?!"

"She'll be here in 10," someone answered, but Mole didn't bother to see who it was.

"Hear that Max?" Mole asked softly. "The Doc will be here in 10. You just need to hold on for a little while longer." He looked over at Dix and asked, "How's Rocky doin'?"

"I don't know…it doesn't look good. I think the bullet hit his lung…" Dix replied uncertainly. "He's still alive at least…"

"Alec…" Max barely breathed out. Mole's attention snapped back to her, but she didn't look like she knew who he was.

"I'm not him, sweetie," Mole replied, surprising himself with how much he actually cared about Max. "But we'll find him. And then I'm gonna kick his ass for not being here right now." He wouldn't actually kick Alec's ass, the kid would blame himself enough already. He just wished Alec was here now though, he would know how to get Max to keep fighting.

Max's eyes closed and Mole felt a flutter of panic. "No Max, c'mon, I need you to stay awake. I'm going to get Alec here as soon as I can ok? You gotta hang on so you can boss him around some more! You don't want him taking over do you?"

Max still didn't open her eyes again and Mole tried his best not to panic. He didn't want to run this place and he really didn't want Max to die. "Please hold on," Mole whispered.

* * *

Alec was blindfolded and his hands were zip tied behind his back this time. When he regained consciousness he found that he was in another truck, but he could hear someone else's breathing next to him. It must have been his guard.

Alec had to hold in his groan as his muscles pulsed with electricity. The electric shock had drained him, but he knew it was only going to get worse. He should've listened to Bear when he had the chance. Now he didn't know when he was going to see Max again, or if he would ever see Max again. He was going to try to escape, but he had no idea if he would succeed. He would either succeed or die trying.

The truck finally stopped, but Alec didn't know how long he'd been out or how far they had gone. His guard pulled him to his feet, but he had to lock his knees so he would stay standing. His guard pushed him suddenly, and he fell the few feet to the ground and landed hard on his knees.

"On your feet soldier," the General ordered. Alec could tell he was enjoying this.

He forced himself back to his feet just to prove to the General that he wasn't weak. He still couldn't see, but that didn't stop him from standing in defiance in the direction the General's voice had come from.

"Take him inside. The Mayor wants a full workup before we start the interrogation," the General said.

Alec's heart pounded hearing that; he hated being tested. He'd hated it at Manticore and he still hated it now. He would rather be interrogated than tested. But he didn't show any of that; he kept his face completely blank and didn't give anything away.

He was pushed forward again, but he shrugged the hand off of him. He could walk by himself; he didn't need someone to push him around. He walked casually, like this was just another day, and only let them steer him when it was time to change directions. He knew that from the entrance, he'd taken 3 rights and 1 left which he would remember if he got a chance to escape.

They walked through a set of double doors, and then they opened a door on the left and pushed him inside. They put him up on an examination table and finally took off his blindfold. The light was blinding and Alec had to squint against it, but he did feel better at being able to see again. His hands were still bound behind his back, but at least he could see.

The room he was in was bare except for a table a little ways away that had medical instruments on it. His guard was standing in the corner with a gun trained on him, but otherwise he was alone. He looked down at the table he was sitting on; it was just a cold metal table, but the worst part was the restraints he could see hanging off of the side. He hated being restrained.

A guy in a lab coat walked in, drawing Alec's attention away from the table. He was a middle-aged man with dark hair and glasses. He didn't look like a psychopath, but looks could be deceiving. This guy was probably going to enjoy doing this to him. He would be excited about it because of science. Alec was like a scientist's greatest daydream and they just couldn't wait to start taking samples and studying him.

The lab coat didn't even acknowledge him when he walked in though. He turned to the guard and said, "Get another guard in here so you can strap him to the table." The guard nodded once and Alec hoped the guard would leave so he could make a break for it, but he didn't. He just called it in on his radio.

They sat in silence for a minute, and then another guard came in. They cut the zip tie and undressed him, leaving him in just his boxers. At least they were nice enough to let him keep some dignity. Although, he was used to being treated like he wasn't a person. They didn't care if he was naked or not because to them, he was just a test subject.

They forced him back on the table and made him lay down. The metal was cold against his bare skin, but he tried to ignore that. The restraints were put on his wrists and ankles; he tested their strength, but it seemed like the lab coat had done his research. The restraints were too strong for him to break through.

The lab coat went to the other table, and then brought over a scalpel. Alec looked away from him and kept his gaze trained on the ceiling. He wasn't going to give them any satisfaction; he would keep his sounds of pain to himself.

"This is going to be unpleasant," Lab coat said after a moment.

Alec ignored him and tried to think of something else.

* * *

Bear ran as fast as she could back to TC. Lucky was still out, but he was still pretty small so he wasn't too heavy. She needed to get back, and then start tracking where they could have taken Alec.

She should have forced him to turn back; she shouldn't have listened to him. But Alec was a hard one to convince and she couldn't just leave him. She felt very protective over him and now he was gone because she couldn't talk him out of it. But she would find him and get him out of there. Max was so going to kill her.

She went into TC through the gate and quickly ran Lucky over to the Infirmary. She didn't stay there to see if Doc was there or not, but Lucky should be fine. She needed to get people to start looking for Alec so she ran to Command. They only had a small window before it was going to be nearly impossible to find him.

It was total chaos when she ran in. People were running around everywhere and shouting orders to each other. She scanned the room for Max, but she didn't see her. There was a lot of blood on the floor though that had her moving forward without even thinking.

"Where's Pretty Boy?" Mole called out as she got closer to the blood. "I need to chew his ass out, and then he needs to get to the hospital. He missed somethin' big while you all were out."

"Where's Max?" Bear asked, ignoring Mole's question for now. She needed to talk to Max.

"She was shot," Mole stated. And now that Bear looked over at him, she saw that his clothes were covered in blood.

"What?" Bear breathed out.

"She and Rocky were both shot," Mole said.

Her breath caught in her chest. She didn't even wait to find out if Rocky was ok or not, she just started running for the exit. Mole ran in front of her to stop her though. She tried to get around Mole, but he kept blocking her exit.

"How did it happen?" Bear finally asked, giving up her escape for a moment.

"Someone walked in here posing as a new transgenic. Nobody questioned him, but Max went over to introduce herself. He shot her, but Rocky tried to push her out of the way. Good thing he did too, otherwise the bullet would have hit her heart. The guy fired again though and hit Rocky before the shooter was tackled to the ground. We have him trapped in a room until we have a chance to interrogate him."

Bear just nodded, unsure on what to make of everything. Rocky and Max were both hurt. Alec needed to be here for this, but she'd let him get captured. She needed to find him as soon as possible so he could get to Max.

She was also worried about Rocky; the transgenic had made her care about him, and then went and got himself shot. She should know better now than to let people in; first Alec gets himself captured, and then Rocky gets himself shot. She wasn't going to let either of them leave the apartment for a month once she got them both back. And she would need Max's help to do it.

"He's stable right now," Mole said. "They're both with Dr. Shankar and she's doing everything she can. I just need Pretty Boy to go over there and talk to Max. Keep her fighting to stay alive and whatnot. So where is he?"

"He's gone," Bear whispered.

"What?" Mole asked, his eyes widening. "He's dead?!"

"No! The General and the Mayor…they took him," Bear replied in a daze. "He's worse than dead."

"Well, now we're really up shit's creek," Mole grumbled. He waited a minute, and then suggested, "Why don't you go on over to the hospital. Joshua and Logan are already there, but I'd feel better if you were there too. Or if you don't want to do that, stay here so I can go over to the hospital. Someone's gotta be in charge around here and unfortunately it's me."

Bear shook her head, "No. I have to start looking for Alec."

"Bear," Mole said on a sigh. "We need to get a team together and start searching the computers for where they could have taken him. This isn't a one person job."

"No," Bear stated. She looked over at Mole with determination. "I'm not leaving him out there. I can pick up the trail and start the search."

"You need-"

"No, I don't. I only came back here to drop Lucky off and to tell Max. Since Max isn't available, then I'm going to find Alec." Bear pushed past Mole and went to the door. "I'll check in when I've found something. Keep me updated on Max and Rocky." Then she left without looking back.

* * *

Alec clenched his jaw and closed his eyes tight as a huge needle was driven into his pelvis. He'd been flipped over so they could shove a needle into him to get some bone marrow. They'd already taken skin samples, hair samples, and over a pint of blood. He couldn't even remember everything they'd done to him, but he was already tired of being their lab rat.

His breath hitched as the needle was pulled out, and then put in again in another spot. To distract himself, he'd been thinking about Max. She was either going to kiss him or kill him when he got out of this. He didn't care, as long as he got to see her again. He needed to have the chance to finish what he started. He couldn't believe it was just this morning that he and Max were finally almost together, it had seemed like weeks ago.

"Take a little more blood, and then I'll be done for now," Lab coat said to one of his helpers. The helpers had come in a little while after he'd been restrained.

He relaxed against the table at the promise of a small break. He was exhausted and he just wanted to go home, but he couldn't give up. He needed to figure out how to get out of this, but so far he had nothing. Besides, right now he wouldn't be able to stay standing for more than a minute, let alone fight his way out of there.

He jumped a little when someone released one of his wrists a few minutes later. His arm was wrenched behind his back and his other hand quickly followed. He was zip tied again before his ankles were released. One of his guards dragged him off of the table and he didn't resist being taken down the hallway.

Alec tried to take in every detail of the compound as they went through the maze of hallways. He remembered every turn and knew if he could make it back to the examination room, then he could find his way out of there. Even if he couldn't make it back to the examination room, he could make a new exit. He was pretty resourceful when he needed to be.

He was taken into another room; his hands were freed for just a second, and then tied again in front of him.

"You guys must have an endless supply of zip ties," Alec quipped as his hands were put above his head. They put his hands on some kind of hook, and then raised him up until his toes barely touched the ground. The skin on his wrists was already raw, but now blood started to drip down his arms.

The General walked in and he slowly walked around Alec. "You should make this easy on yourself and just answer my questions when I ask them."

"That takes all the fun out of the interrogation!" Alec said with a smirk.

"I was hoping you'd feel that way," he replied with a smile. "Now tell me, how many transgenics are in Terminal City?"

"How should I know?" Alec asked back easily.

The General glanced over at one of the guards and nodded. The guard moved forward and hit Alec hard in the side. Alec took the hit without a sound, but he tried to stop his swinging with his tip toes.

"How many transgenics are in Terminal City?" The General asked again.

"More than you can count," Alec said with a small smirk. "Especially since I think the highest you can count is like 5…" The General nodded and he was hit again. He clenched his jaw and tried to keep his breathing under control.

"How many transgenics are in Terminal City?"

"Where's the Mayor? I think I like him better…" Alec muttered, and then he was punched.

"How many transgenics are in Terminal City?"

"You can keep asking that question until you lose your voice, I'm not going to answer," Alec growled. He was hit and the General started walking around him again.

"Oh, you'll answer me at some point. I just have to figure out what it's going to take," the General said. "Now, how many transgenics are in Terminal City?"

"Go screw yourself," Alec replied with a challenge.

* * *

"How are they?" Lucky asked as Dr. Shankar walked over to him, Logan, and Joshua, who had begged to go and was only allowed since he was wearing a very oversized hoodie to hide his face. Original Cindy and Sketchy were they too, who Lucky only knew because Joshua had told him who they were. He'd just gotten to the hospital; Mole had sent him here so he could report back to the rest of Command.

He had wanted to go find Bear since she was looking for Alec, but he'd been given orders. And since Max was pretty much Alec's girlfriend, he owned it to his CO to check on her. He liked Max as a leader, but he had to admit that she terrified him. It was probably just because he'd never really talked to her before and she had a total badass image that he wasn't really used to.

"They're both stable for now," Dr. Shankar replied slowly. "It was close though. And they're not out of the woods yet."

"Can we go see them?" Lucky asked.

"Only a couple at a time," she answered. "They've both been through a lot…"

Lucky nodded in understanding. He turned to the small group that was around him, trying to figure out who should go with him. He needed to go so he could protect them and to report back. Max would probably want to see either Original Cindy or Joshua when she woke up. Lucky would rather sit with Original Cindy so that's who he would ask.

Joshua would have been ok, but the big guy was really broken up about Max, and then when he heard about Alec he just became even more distressed. Lucky didn't know how to deal with people in distress and Original Cindy looked like she wasn't going to freak out on him.

"Cindy…would you want to go with me?" Lucky asked quietly.

"Sure thing, honey," she replied. Then she and Lucky followed Dr. Shankar down a hallway, and then to the room where Rocky and Max both were. They had to keep them in the same room since they were both transgenics and they didn't want word to get out that they were there.

Max was lying on the first bed and Rocky on the other. They both had a ton of tubes in them and they both were being kept alive by machines. Lucky started to turn to leave, unable to bare bringing this news back to Command, but Original Cindy put her hand against his chest to stop him.

"It's ok sugar," Cindy soothed. "They're gonna be ok."

He took a deep breath, and then sat down in the chair next to Max's bed. Original Cindy sat in the chair between Rocky and Max's beds. Lucky didn't know what he was supposed to do; if he was supposed to talk to her or hold her hand or something, but he really wished Alec was here. He was the one Max would want to see anyway and he would know what to do.

"Max," Original Cindy said, interrupting the silence. "Me and Lucky are here with you. And you too Rocky. And we're gonna stay here until you guys are well enough to wake up. You just take your time, 'cause we aren't goin' anywhere."

Lucky sat back in his chair. He would wait until Max woke up or until Alec got there to take his place.

* * *

Alec was only half conscious as he was lowered back to the ground. They pulled his hands off of the hook and he almost fell forward. His guard caught him though, and then pulled him to his feet. The hands were gentler this time and Alec tried to remember which guard might be willing to help him if he needed it. This one had freckles all over his face, so Freckles was the nice one. Alec also knew Freckles had been pulling his punches too, so there was some hope that he could get some help. The other guard seemed to enjoy this though; he looked like he worked out too much and didn't ever think for himself so Alec was going to think of him as Meathead.

"Take him to his new room. We'll try again in a few hours," the General said.

Meathead went to his other side and helped drag him to a different room. They were nice enough to actually put him on the little cot in the room instead of just tossing him inside. He was grateful for that since he wasn't going to move for a little while. It seemed like they were being nice by giving him a break, but he bet they were just letting his muscles get stiff before they started round two.

He knew he had some broken ribs and his wrists were a mess. His head was throbbing from getting hit in the face with the General's gun earlier and his muscles still weren't quite under his control from getting shocked earlier. None of that even included all of the testing they had done to him earlier. His bones were aching and his skin felt raw. And he was lightheaded from all the blood they took at one time. He was a mess and they were just getting started.

He was so exhausted that as soon as his head hit the cot, he was out.

It seemed like only a minute later and Freckles was pulling him out of bed. He was taken to the same room as before and hung up just like last time. His shoulders protested the position; they were already strained from holding his weight earlier and they hurt even more now.

The General walked into the room and Alec rolled his eyes.

"You're not looking so cocky anymore…but I still haven't gotten my answers," the General said.

"Yeah…good luck with that," Alec replied, but his voice was rough.

Freezing water was suddenly blasted in his face, and then they sprayed him down completely. Alec spit the water out of his mouth and shook his head to try and get the water off of his face. He hated being wet.

"The longer we have you in custody, the more we learn about your kind," the General said as he circled him. "You're a tough bunch that doesn't break easy. You can take a beating and you're extremely resourceful. But I also learned that like humans, you don't handle electricity very well…"

Alec kept his focus straight ahead so he wouldn't give anything away. He knew what was coming and it made his heart beat faster, dreading what was coming. He'd been tortured like this before, but it still sucked.

"Now, do you want to answer my questions?" The General asked.

"Go to Hell," Alec said in defiance, and then the first shock hit him.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	14. Chapter 14

"Sir…someone's trying to hack into our system," the soldier said, looking up at the General.

"How close are they to getting through?" The General asked.

"It'll be another day, maybe," the soldier replied.

"Good," the General stated. "I have one more test, and then we'll move him to a new location."

* * *

Max was slow coming back to consciousness. She remembered getting shot, but then it was just nothing. Her chest felt tight, but she figured she was being pumped full of painkillers since she wasn't in too much pain. She had no idea how long she'd been there and she really didn't know where she was. She figured they had taken her to the hospital since they didn't have the equipment to deal with this kind of injury.

Her eyelids felt heavy though, and it was difficult for her to get them open. She settled for listening instead. She could hear two heart monitors in her room. She figured one of them was hers since it matched the beat of her own heart; the other one she wasn't so sure on.

She could also hear the breathing of three other people in her room. They sounded normal and she imagined that whoever was in there was just sitting and waiting. She figured that Alec was probably sitting next to her. He probably hadn't left her side since he'd gotten back from his run and she imagined he would be exhausted. She didn't know how long she had been there, but she knew Alec would be worried.

She found that she really couldn't wait to see him. She had been really worried before she'd gotten shot since he hadn't been back from his run and she wanted to make sure he was ok. She fought to get her eyes to cooperate so she could see him. She just wanted to look at him and see his green eyes looking back at her. It was enough motivation to get her eyes to open a crack.

"Hey Max," a girl said when she noticed Max was starting to wake up. Max recognized the girl's voice and it only took her a moment to figure out the girl was Original Cindy. She was surprised that her best friend was there, but she was happy too.

Max tried to say hi back, but she couldn't really get her voice to work. She looked past OC and saw another person lying in the bed next to hers. Her heartbeat picked up when she realized that Rocky was the one next to her; Max didn't remember him getting shot.

"He's alright," Original Cindy instantly reassured. "He woke up just a little while ago. He asked how you were doin' and stayed awake for a few minutes before he got tired again."

Max relaxed again, and then let her gaze move over to the other side of her bed. She was surprised to see Lucky sitting in the chair that Alec was supposed to be in. She really hadn't talked to Lucky that much and it was weird that he was there. She really wondered where Alec was supposed to sit since Lucky was in his chair. She looked back over to Cindy in alarm and barely whispered, "Alec?"

Original Cindy gave her a sad smile, and then shot a look over to the corner. Max looked over and saw Bear appear from the shadows. That wasn't right. Bear was supposed to be with Alec and Alec was supposed to be sitting with her. Something had happened. Max felt tears prick her eyes, but she blinked them away and focused on Bear.

"Max…" Bear started out softly. Max shook her head in denial at Bear's tone, but Bear kept going. "He's still alive, but he's been taken by the General and the Mayor."

Max found that she was having trouble breathing and started to sit up, but Bear moved forward to keep her lying down. Alec had been captured and there was nothing she could really do about it.

"I'm still looking for him," Bear quickly reassured. "I just came by because they told me you would probably wake up today, and I needed to be the one to tell you. I'm going back out right after this."

Max started to get up again and breathed out, "I'm going with you."

"Don't be stupid," Bear refuted. "You'll just hurt yourself more and you need to be well for when I find him."

Max knew Bear was right, but she couldn't stand the thought of him being where he was. She wanted him here with her, safe and whole. She felt like she was missing something without him there. She wanted to be with him; she wanted them to have a chance together.

"Find him," she suddenly ordered.

Bear nodded once, and then promised, "I will."

* * *

Alec woke up and found that he was in his room. Well, it was more like his cell, but it was better than the interrogation room or the examination room. His room was like Heaven compared to those other two rooms. He actually got a break in this room, even if it was just a short break.

It'd been three days since he'd been captured. He'd been tested a few more times, but had been tortured every time he was conscious again. He could barely move he hurt so bad. They'd used the electricity the most on him so far, but he'd been beaten a few more times too. He was a mess, but he was still alive so he still had a chance.

He was lying on his cot, but he barely turned his head to see which guard was in his room this time. If it was Freckles then he had a few more seconds of peace, but if it was Meathead then he would be drug out of the room as soon as he noticed that he was awake. He always hoped for Freckles.

But he was surprised to see that neither of his guards were in his room. That was different… He looked down at his hands, his wrists were bloody and raw and there were deep gouges where the zip ties had cut into him, but he wasn't bound by the ties this time.

This was a test. He knew right off that they were testing him to see what he would do with this freedom. They probably wanted to see if he would take the chance or not, and if he did, they wanted to see how far he would get.

He didn't want to play into their trap, but he couldn't ignore a chance of freedom. There was a possibility that they would underestimate him and he might be able to get out of this place. But first he would have to get up.

He managed to get his feet on the floor and he tried to stand up. He got up, but his legs immediately collapsed under his weight. He stubbornly pushed himself back up, but closed his eyes to try and get the room to stop spinning. He didn't know if he was dizzy because of the pain or because he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for a while. He opened his eyes again after a few seconds, and then took a few tentative steps.

The adrenaline started pumping though and made him push past all the pain. He limped over to his door, but he had to keep his arm wrapped around his ribs to brace them. This was going to be a disaster.

The halls were quiet as he walked around silently. He tried to figure out if they expected him to go back to the entrance, or if they thought he would make his own exit. He wanted to do the opposite of whatever they thought he was going to do, but he expected they had planned for either option.

He decided to try for his own exit since he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. He pushed open the first door he saw and prayed for a window. He was lucky because there was a window in the room, but it was pretty high up. It was high enough that he couldn't reach it standing which was going to make things difficult. Normally, he could just jump up to it, but now he wasn't in the best shape and he didn't know if he could make it up there. He decided that he had to try though.

He bunched up his exhausted muscles and leaped up to the window. He barely managed to grab onto the ledge, but he almost let go at the strain this put on his already messed up shoulders. He clenched his jaw though, and pulled himself up.

He had to take a break once he was up on the ledge. He was exhausted and he was hurting, but he had to keep going. He pushed on the window, but it didn't budge. He had to turn and balance on the ledge so he could bust the window open with his elbow. He groaned at the extra pain, but then turned and knocked out the rest of the glass.

He peeked over the ledge and immediately wished he hadn't. It was a long way to the ground and if he hurt himself dropping down then it was going to be even more difficult to get away from this place.

Alec tried to take a deep breath, but gave up on that pretty quickly when his ribs protested the movement. He groaned in frustration and felt the urge to hit something. This whole situation was his fault and he needed to just forget about the pain and do what he needed to do. He got himself into this mess and now it was time to get himself out of it.

Without thinking too much about it, he swung his legs over the ledge and jumped. He bent his knees to lessen the impact, and then rolled and he was shocked that he didn't hurt himself too badly. He forced himself back to his feet and scanned the area.

It looked like he was at the back side of the building since there wasn't much back there except for an empty parking lot and a fence with barbed wired at the top. Woods surrounded the area which meant he was definitely outside of Seattle.

There was a guard patrolling the fence and Alec really wished he had a gun. He would feel a lot better with a gun. At the very least he wished that he had some clothes so he could blend in better. Right now he was pretty visible with the sun shining down on his pale skin.

Since there was only one guard at the fence, Alec figured he had a better chance against him than if he went to the front. There was no telling how many guards would be at the entrance, but he knew there would be more than just one.

He snuck around the side of the building and crept closer to the guard. If he could take out the guard then he could steal his weapon and that would just increase his chances. It was funny since this felt like just another training exercise at Manticore instead of an actual escape attempt. Either way it was a life or death situation that he had to get through.

He was almost to the guard when another one suddenly walked up. He knew in the state he was in, he wouldn't last five minutes in a fight against two guards. One he could probably deal with, but not two. He had to abandon his chance at a gun and instead he decided to just jump over the fence.

He almost didn't jump high enough, but he managed to clear the barbed wire and land on the other side. It wasn't very graceful but it got the job done. He took off at a painful jog through the woods, trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and that place.

He was a few yards away when an alarm started to sound. They knew he was out of his room, but he hoped that they didn't know which way he'd gone. He should have tried to steal a car instead of make it out on foot. He couldn't move very fast and if they came after him, he wouldn't have much hope in outrunning them.

After a few more yards, Alec had to stop and try to catch his breath. He leaned against a tree, but he didn't let himself sit down. He knew if he did then he wouldn't get back up again. His sensitive hearing suddenly picked up the sound of footsteps running through the woods and his heart sank. If he ran, he might be able to stay ahead of them for a few minutes, but they would catch up with him eventually.

Instead of running, he looked up at the tree he was leaning on. He might be able to hide and wait for them to pass before he made his escape. He jumped up to the first branch, and then as fast as he could, he climbed up higher. He went as high as he could so he was a little more camouflaged, and waited.

A few minutes later a group of soldiers ran by. They spread out and started searching for him, but they were scanning the ground for his footprints and not looking up at the trees. Alec held his breath as they searched the area. He thought that as long as they didn't look up then he'd be fine.

His heart sank though when he saw the General walk into the group. He walked around the tree that Alec was in, and then looked back towards the compound. He stood there for a minute until one of the soldiers started to move out.

"You shouldn't go too far," the General called out. "He's not in any shape to be outrunning you." The soldier stopped and started to turn back. "Isn't that right?" The General asked, glancing up at him in the tree. "You made it further than I thought you would and it was very interesting to watch what you decided to do."

"I could keep going," Alec suggested with a small smirk. "Just leave really quick and give me a head start and you won't find me this time."

"I don't think we're done with you quite yet," the General replied. "Now, why don't you come down here before I have one of my men shoot you out of that tree?"

"I thought you weren't quite done with me yet?" Alec asked. "If you shoot me that sounds like the end to me."

"We've got tranq guns, so it won't kill you. But that fall is going to hurt. It might even break a few more bones…" the General pointed out.

Alec sighed, and then slowly made his way out of the tree and back to the ground. Two soldiers grabbed his arms once he was on the ground, but he didn't resist them. His chance at freedom was a failure; his hope of seeing Max again was gone.

* * *

Max tried to sit up, but she didn't make it very far. She knew she should just rest, but she couldn't stand the thought of Alec being in the hands of the Mayor. The Mayor had wanted to bring them in for testing and she couldn't even imagine what Alec was going through right now. She needed to get him out of there and bring him back to safety, but her bullet wound was making that impossible.

She knew she had been lucky; she should have died with that shot, but she hadn't. Somehow she had made it back, but now she couldn't do anything useful. She wanted to help but she couldn't even sit up.

"Max, you should take it easy," Logan said when he saw that she was trying to get out of bed again.

Lucky had gone back to Command to update Mole and OC had to go back to work. Joshua and Sketchy had visited her for a while, but then they'd let Logan have his turn at sitting with her. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful for the company; it was just the wrong company. It wouldn't be right until Alec was with her again.

"I need to find Alec," Max replied stubbornly.

"Max," Logan said on a sigh. He reached out to grab her hand, but she pulled away from him. She didn't want to hold hands with him; she wanted Alec to be here with her instead.

"Logan…we need to talk," Max started out slowly. Logan nodded and gave her a sad smile, but he let her say what she needed to say. "I like Alec. I know we were just in a fake relationship before, but then I started wanting it to be real. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know," Logan said quietly. "I knew in the conference room that you were going to choose him. I should have just let you go, but I was worried about you." He was quiet for a minute, and then he said, "I'm going to try and look for where they're keeping him...and I'll let you know if I find something…"

"Thanks Logan," Max said quietly.

Logan nodded again, and then slowly got up to leave her room. She felt a little better, having cleared up one part of her life. Now she just needed to get Alec back.

* * *

They moved him. They had taken him back to the compound and he'd been beaten for trying to escape. He'd passed out after a while and when he'd woken up again, he was in a truck. He was blindfolded again and his hands were zip tied. It was just like when they'd brought him in the first time.

As soon as the truck stopped, they took him to a room, but they strapped him to a chair. They took off his blindfold and he saw that he was in a fairly dark room and he was sitting in the only chair in the room.

He wasn't surprised when the General walked in a few minutes later, but it was a shock to see the Mayor too. He hadn't seen the Mayor since the warehouse, when this whole thing had started.

"Well look who it is," Alec said with a small smile. He would have smiled more, but he really didn't have the energy to put on the full act. "Long time no see Mr. Mayor."

"You look a little worse than I remember," the Mayor said with a smirk.

"Yeah, you have some really nice friends," Alec replied sarcastically. "Your hospitality is just outstanding."

The Mayor smiled, "We are impressed with how you're handling this, but I was hoping for a few answers at least…"

"This isn't my first rodeo," Alec said. "And I have to say, I'm a little disappointed with your torture methods…very overdone."

"Well, we have something else in mind that might loosen you up a bit." The Mayor walked over to the door and grabbed something from outside. He came back carrying a syringe and he slowly walked towards Alec. "This is a new thing that the scientists came up with. We haven't really tested it yet, so I'm not sure what it will do to you…"

Alec just glared at him as he shoved the needle into his arm. Alec could practically feel the liquid go into his veins, and the effects seemed almost instantaneous. The stuff seemed to catch his blood on fire as it went through his system.

He had to clench his jaw and close his eyes tight to try and fight off the pain. His hands formed into fists, but there was no relief. Whatever the Mayor had injected into him, it wasn't good.

His heart was pounding and he thought he could hear someone talking, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He could barely hold his head up and he was trying really hard to stay conscious. He forced his eyes open and he tried to look over at the General and the Mayor. They were blurry when he finally got his eyes open, but movement behind them caught his eye.

He glanced over at the movement, but he was shocked to see a girl who looked like Max walking around.

"Max?" Alec didn't even realize he'd asked that out loud. But he couldn't believe Max was there somehow. He was probably just hallucinating. No one else seemed to notice her and they just ignored him when he spoke, so he didn't have much hope that she was there to rescue him. Not that he wanted her to actually be there. She would be in too much danger if she was.

She walked around the General and walked straight over to him. She crouched down in front of him and reached up and stroked his cheek. He leaned into the gentle touch and closed his eyes. His blood still felt like it was on fire, but it was a little more manageable with Max there with him.

She didn't say anything, but she stayed with him for a long time. He ignored everyone else in the room and just focused on her. He knew it had only been a few days since he'd been captured, but he felt like he hadn't seen her in ages.

He knew she wasn't really there since no one was doing anything to take her away, but he couldn't help the urge to talk to her. The only thing that stopped him was that he wasn't alone in the room. But if the pain got much worse, he might ignore that and talk to her anyway just to distract himself.

Max moved away from him and started back over to the General. Alec watched her curiously, and she looked over at him, and then at the General and the Mayor. Alec could see them talking to each other so he tried to focus on what they were saying.

"I still think my method is better," the General muttered.

"Either way, we aren't getting our answers…" the Mayor replied.

"I think we should just terminate already…"

"We could still use him to try and lure her out. It was obvious that they were together in that meeting and I'm almost positive she would trade herself for him," the Mayor argued.

"I guess you haven't heard yet…"

"Heard what?"

"There's another player in town," the General said. "She was shot. There's no word yet if she's alive or not, but someone beat you to the punch."

"We should find out who else is trying to kill her," the Mayor said after a moment. "But, we could still use him. There are a few more test we can run and I'd like to get another pint of blood before we terminate."

"Fine. As long as I'm the one to terminate, I don't care," the General replied. The Mayor shrugged, and then walked out of the room.

Max walked back over to him. She kissed his forehead, and then disappeared.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	15. Chapter 15

Alec was back in the chair. He couldn't decide if he was going to be injected again or if they were going to try something new. He actually preferred getting beaten to whatever had been in that syringe; his blood was still burning and Max had eventually come back.

Hallucination Max was with him almost all the time now. He was losing touch with reality, which was never a good sign. He didn't have much hope of getting out by himself anymore. He had no idea how long it'd been, but he was barely holding on and he knew he wouldn't be able to pull off another escape attempt.

The General walked in and Alec shook his head. "Y'know, your entrances are so lame…" His voice was barely above a whisper, but the General smirked at him so he knew that he'd been heard.

"Sorry to disappoint you." The General brought another chair over and sat down in front of him.

"I mean, you should try to switch it up a bit…maybe you should already be in the room when I come in. Or, how about-" Alec's head suddenly snapped to the side as the General hit him hard.

"I can't wait to put you down," the General said with a smile.

Alec barely huffed out a laugh, but then groaned as a knife stabbed into his left leg just above his knee.

"Answer my questions," the General growled.

"No," Alec ground out between clenched teeth.

The General pulled the knife out of his leg and stabbed it into his right shoulder. "I'm so tired of hearing myself ask the same questions over and over again."

"You and me both…" Alec muttered. The General pulled the knife out of his shoulder slowly and Alec couldn't stop his small sound of pain.

"I told you before, you should just make this easy on yourself…" the General said after a moment. He cut a deep line across Alec's chest and Alec clenched his fists in pain. The General got right in his face and yelled, "Answer my questions!"

Alec glared back at him, "Never."

* * *

"What the Hell are you doin' here?" Mole grumbled when Max very slowly walked into Command.

She knew she was pushing things too fast, but she couldn't stay in that hospital for another minute. There had still been no word on Alec; it had been over a week and they still had nothing. She needed to be where everything was happening.

Mole ran over and grabbed a chair and forced her into it. He gave her a disapproving look and waited for her to answer.

"I can't stay there anymore," Max finally said. "I have to know what's going on."

"Fine," Mole replied. "But where's Rocky? You just leave him there?"

"Present…" Rocky suddenly said, slowly making his way into the room. Max looked back at Mole and smiled a little at the look of exasperation that crossed his face.

"I think you're both morons," Mole said in annoyance.

"Whatever," Max waved off. "Tell me what you've got so far."

"They moved him," Mole said. "We were about to hack into their system, but they must have seen us coming."

"So where is he now?" Max asked.

"We're working on it and Bear has been going nonstop to find him, but I am glad you're here for one thing…"

"What?"

"We still have your shooter in custody. What do you want us to do with him?" Mole asked.

Max had completely forgotten about the shooter. It had been the furthest thing from her mind, but they did need to deal with him. They needed to find out who he was working for and if there were going to be others.

"Has anyone interrogated him yet?" Max asked after a moment.

"Not yet," Mole replied. "We kind of forgot about him until recently."

At least she wasn't alone in forgetting about the shooter. She was too concerned with getting Alec back to even think about the guy.

"Well, once we get Alec back, we'll deal with him. My only concern is Alec," Max stated.

* * *

Alec was back in his room. He was lying on his cot with his head resting in Max's lap. She stroked his hair and even though it wasn't real, it was still comforting. He had multiple cuts across his chest; some of them were still bleeding and his blood was starting to pool beneath him.

Max looked to his cell door, alerting him to one of his guards coming back. They'd been leaving him alone and keeping his hands free since they knew he was too weak to try anything. He didn't even have the strength or the motivation to see which guard it was this time.

"I brought your food…" Alec knew it was Freckles that had come in since he was actually talking to him and he didn't just throw his food on the floor. Alec glanced over at him, but didn't make any move to get up. It wasn't that he didn't want the food, he did, he just didn't have the energy to sit up.

Freckles looked at him in sympathy and set down his food. Alec looked to fake Max, but she just shrugged back at him. He looked back to Freckles who had started to move closer to him. Alec was surprised when Freckles gently helped him sit up, and then gave him his food. He usually left it where he could reach it, but that was it.

He knew his back was actually resting against the wall, but he thought he was resting against Max. She wrapped her arms around him and set her chin on top of his shoulder. She turned her head towards his neck and kissed him lightly.

Freckles sat with his back to the camera in the corner and then said, "These cameras don't have any sound, but they can see if I'm talking to you, so act like we aren't having this conversation right now."

Alec just looked at his food and reached out with a shaky hand to grab the bread off of his tray.

"I'm getting you out of here." Alec almost looked up in surprise, but he managed to keep his focus on his food. "I was just following orders before, but I don't agree with what's happening. I'm sorry it took me so long to come around, but I have a plan."

Alec cocked his head a little to try and ask him what that plan was, but someone else walked into the cell before Freckles could answer.

"What do you think you're doin' be nice to it?" Alec knew it was Meathead that had just walked in. Rough hands suddenly grabbed him and threw him to the floor. He rolled so he could keep Meathead in front of him. He was weak, but he still had his training.

"Helpin' it sit up…what's wrong with you?" Meathead asked. He pulled his foot back and started to kick at Alec, but Freckles ran forward and tackled him before he could. Meathead fought back and he and Freckles rolled around on the floor, both trying to get the upper hand.

Alec forced himself up, and then when Meathead was on top of Freckles, he jumped onto Meathead's back and got him in a chokehold. Meathead instantly abandoned fighting Freckles and instead tried to pry Alec's arms from around his neck.

Alec held on until Meathead started to weaken from lack of oxygen. Meathead finally fell unconscious and Alec released him to fall on the floor. Freckles looked at him in amazement, but his adrenaline was starting to wear out.

He swayed a little, suddenly extremely dizzy, and Freckles had to reach out to steady him. Freckles helped him sit down, and then moved back to Meathead. He started undressing the other guard, but then he said over his shoulder, "You're a lot tougher than I thought…"

"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve…" Alec muttered. "I guess it's time for the escape plan…" He looked over to see if Max was still there, but she had disappeared.

"Yeah," Freckles replied. "If they saw me help you sit up, then they definitely saw that." Freckles zip tied Meathead's hands behind his back, and then walked over to Alec with some clothes. "Since you can't walk around practically naked, let's see if any of these will work…"

Alec knew he wouldn't be able to carry the gear, but he would feel better with some clothes. He took the white t-shirt, the army pants, and the boots from Freckles, and then started to pull on the t-shirt. It was instantly stained with his blood, but he didn't care; he just needed it until he got back to TC.

Freckles had to help him stand so he could get the pants on and he just stepped into the boots. The clothes were too big for him, but they would work. The last thing Freckles handed him was Meathead's gun. He closed his eyes in relief at finally having a defense against these people.

"What's the plan?" Alec finally asked once he was ready to go.

"Well, we don't have the element of surprise, but we need to get to the front and steal a car. You didn't make it out last time because you were on foot. But this is still going to be next to impossible," Freckles said.

"We need to make a quick stop before we go to the front," Alec said. Freckles looked at him in confusion so Alec said, "I need to find the General."

"Kid, that's a really bad idea," Freckles replied. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

Alec shook his head, "No, I've gotta find him and take him out so he can't do any more damage."

"I hate to break this to you, but he's not even here right now," Freckles replied. "He was called away yesterday to some meeting." Alec was about to argue with his guard, but Freckles spoke again before he could. "But the Mayor's here."

"That'll work," Alec said with a smile.

"Alright, follow me," Freckles said. He opened the door and peeked outside before he motioned that it was clear. Alec covered Freckles as they walked down the deserted hallway. He looked back to see if Max was following, but he didn't see her.

"They'll probably have the guards at the front since they aren't here to stop us," Freckles whispered.

Alec just nodded back. He needed to keep his focus on walking and getting out of there. They went through the halls as silently as they could until Freckles stopped at a door on the right. Freckles looked back at him to make sure he was ready, and then busted in the door.

Alec immediately went in after him with his gun raised. He took out the guard in the room as the Mayor turned and looked at him in shock that quickly changed to anger.

"What do you think you're doing?" The Mayor spit out.

"I'm ready to check out. I haven't really enjoyed my stay, but I'll be sure to put that in my review," Alec replied.

"You won't make it out of here. And even if you do, I can easily trap you again. You have a killer curiosity remember?"

Alec nodded in thought, "True. Curiosity killed the cat, but did you know there was a second part to that saying?" The Mayor narrowed his eyes at him so Alec said, "Satisfaction brought it back." The Mayor's mouth popped open in shock. Alec aimed his gun, and then fired. He hit the Mayor right between the eyes, the man's legs collapsed and he fell to the floor.

Freckles looked over at him in surprise, but Alec just stared back evenly. He wouldn't apologize for killing this man, especially since it would keep him from torturing his people ever again. He only regretted not getting rid of him sooner. Alec went to the other guard and took his gun before he looked back at Freckles.

"Ok, now I'm ready to go," Alec said after a moment.

Freckles finally nodded, and then led the way again. Alec stepped over the Mayor's body and followed his guard. He really wished he could have gotten the General too, but at least he'd gotten one of them.

They made it all the way to the entrance before gunfire slowed them down. They had to take cover, and Alec wasn't really sure what their plan was going to be now. He looked over at Freckles, but Freckles looked back at him.

Alec moved until he could see around the corner. There was a truck not too far away that they could probably make a run for. Alec motioned to the truck and Freckles nodded his agreement. Alec was going to take the lead, but Freckles easily passed him. He still stayed closed, but Alec was starting to slow down fast. They needed to get to the truck as fast as they could.

Alec shot at a few guards as they jogged to the truck. They would have run, but Alec knew he couldn't manage that. Freckles ended up running ahead and laying down covering fire until Alec could get to the truck.

Alec practically collapsed once he was behind the cover of the truck. He was breathing hard, but the pain of breathing was almost enough to make him black out. He'd ignored the pain as much as he could, but now he was past his limit. A transgenic could only push for so long before they didn't have anything left and Alec was at that point.

"C'mon kid, we're not free yet," Freckles said. He stood up to get the door open, but then fell back as he got hit with a bullet. Alec grabbed his gun and returned fire until the shooter had to take cover.

"Freckles, hey, you alright?" Alec breathed out.

Freckles groaned, but managed to get back to his feet. He didn't answer Alec's question, but he did get the door open. He turned back to Alec and helped him get inside, and then he quickly followed. Alec was stuck in the passenger seat, but he was ok with that. He didn't want to pass out while driving and kill them both.

Freckles hotwired the truck, and then practically floored it out of there. Alec's vision started to go black and he wasn't really sure what was going on. He felt someone shake his shoulder, and for a minute he almost thought that Max was trying to wake him up.

"Kid!" It was Freckles who was trying to wake him up. "C'mon kid, we didn't go through all that just so you could check out on me now."

"'M alright…" Alec mumbled.

"Alright…" Freckles said, but he didn't sound like he believed him. "We've got two trucks following us. How much ammo do you have left?"

Alec checked his gun, "Two rounds…but I have the other guard's gun too…"

"Ok," Freckles handed him his gun too, "Can you still shoot?" Alec nodded. "Ok, if you can, try and take out the trucks behind us…otherwise we'll have to try and lose them in the city."

"How far are we from the city?"

"10 miles," Freckles replied.

Alec nodded, and then rolled down his window. Twisting around to aim at the trucks behind them was almost too painful to keep up, but he didn't have a choice. He fired his last two rounds at the first truck, but he didn't do any damage. The soldiers in the other truck returned fire, but their shots went wide.

"You're gonna have to let them get closer…I'm a little off my game right now…" Alec muttered.

Freckles slowed down a little, and Alec used one of the other guns to try and line up a good shot. His hands were shaking so badly it was hard for him to get his target lined up. He fired two shots, but nothing happened. The other truck fired back. Alec had to get back in his truck fast; one of the shots went where he had been just seconds before and knocked out the side mirror.

"You ok, kid?" Freckles asked in concern when the mirror shattered.

"Fine…" Alec breathed out.

He took a second to collect himself, and then went back out the window. He fired three more times, and on the third shot he finally hit the front right tire. It blew and the first truck swerved out of control. It ran off the road, and then slammed into a tree.

"Nice shot kid!" Freckles exclaimed as he watched the other truck in the rearview mirror.

They didn't get to celebrate for long though, because the second truck sped up and knocked into the back of their truck.

"How much further until we get to the city?" Alec asked, collapsing back against his seat.

"We're almost there…" Freckles tried to reassure, but Alec could hear pain in his voice. Alec looked over at him in concern, and then remembered that Freckles had been shot.

"How bad is it?" Alec asked. The other truck hit them again and Alec quickly fired three shots at them before he looked back over at Freckles.

"We need to get to town…" Freckles hedged.

"You gonna pass out?" Alec asked.

"I can make it."

Alec took his word for it, but then thought of something that might help them. "You have a phone on you?"

Freckles nodded, and then shifted so he could get his phone out of his pocket. He handed it over to Alec as soon as he had it free and Alec immediately started punching in numbers.

"Who is this?" Bear asked; her tone was quiet, but almost deadly.

"Bear, it's me…" Alec breathed out in relief.

"Alec? Where are you? Are you ok? Are you free?" Bear asked quickly.

"Where are you?" Alec asked instead.

"I'm on the south side of the city," Bear quickly replied.

"Where are we?" Alec asked Freckles. "Direction wise?"

"Southwest," Freckles answered.

"Who's with you?" Bear asked.

"One of the guards helped me escape…but we have one of them tailing us," Alec said.

"Ok, hang on Alec, I'll find you," Bear replied, and then she hung up. Alec knew she would be out looking for him and he knew she would be able to find them. He didn't know if what the General and the Mayor had said about Max getting shot was true, but he didn't want to drag her into this if it was.

"Don't you need to give your friend a little more than just a direction?" Freckles asked incredulously.

"She'll find us," Alec replied confidently. "Just stay ahead of them until she gets here."

They were flying through the streets of Seattle now, but the other truck easily paced them. They were hit from behind again and their truck started swerving out of control. They were hit again, and Freckles couldn't correct in time. Their truck went up on two wheels, and then fell to the side. The truck slid for a few feet, but then there was a jarring stop as it crashed into something.

Alec had been thrown over to Freckles' side of the truck and tossed forward when they stopped. The crash really hadn't done his body any favors and for a minute he didn't think he could even move. Freckles lightly shook his shoulder, and Alec glanced back over at him.

"You alight?" Freckles asked. Alec just nodded back. "They're going to surround us."

Alec nodded again, and then tried to move so he could look out the window. He could see four soldiers making their way over to them, but he didn't have a clear shot. His heart sank as they moved steadily closer; he'd almost been free, but he couldn't see a way out of this one. Their only chance would be to shoot when they tried to get them out.

Alec could suddenly hear another car racing down the street. He peeked out the window again and saw a silver car fly into view. It crashed into two of the soldiers, and then he saw Bear roll down the window and shoot the other two soldiers. She barely stopped once the soldiers were taken care of, and then she was jumping out of the car and running to their truck.

"Alec?!" She wrenched the door open and Alec didn't think he'd ever been so happy to see her before. She quickly reached in and helped him get out of the truck. Her eyes were full of tears and he knew his were the same.

She pulled him in for a tight hug and Alec tried his best to return it. He was so tired and his entire body hurt. He couldn't help it when he collapsed against her. She kept him up, but then she must have decided that he should sit down because she helped ease him to the ground a moment later.

"You're as weak as a kitten," Bear said slightly teasing, but tears were falling from her eyes and she gave him a watery smile.

Alec gave her a small smile back said, "You used one of 'em…"

Bear nodded, and then pulled him forward for another hug. He rested against her since he knew he was safe now. "I missed you terribly…"

"I missed you too," Alec replied sincerely.

She held him back at arm's length after a minute, and then said, "You are never allowed to do that again, understand?"

Alec nodded, but then remembered Freckles was still in the truck. "My guard, Freckles, he's hurt."

Bear glanced over at the truck, and then back to him. She gave him a look that clearly told him to stay put, and then got up to get Freckles out of the truck. She was back just a few minutes later and she crouched down in front of him.

"Ready to go home?"

Alec's eyes filled with tears again and he nodded back to her. She helped him to his feet, but had to support almost all of his weight as she brought him to the silver car. Bear put him in the front seat and he glanced back to see Freckles was in the back.

"We did it kid," Freckles muttered as Bear walked around to the other side of the car.

"Thanks Freckles," Alec replied, and then he sank further into his seat.

Bear got back into the car, but she looked over at him like she didn't quite believe he was really there. She reached out and grabbed his hand before she finally started driving and she refused to let go. He was ok with that; he needed the comfort right now.

"Is Max ok?" Alec asked after a few blocks.

Bear looked over at him, and then back to the road. "Yes, she's ok, she should be in Command when we get there."

"Did you tell her you were coming to get me?" Alec asked.

"No," Bear replied. "I didn't want to get her hopes up in case I couldn't find you."

"That's good," Alec said, and then he asked, "Did she get shot?"

"Yes, but she's ok, Alec," Bear reassured.

Alec just nodded. He needed to rest, but he wanted to see Max first. They were almost to TC and he only had to stay conscious for a few more minutes. Even though he was fighting to stay conscious, he must have dozed off for a few minutes because the next thing he knew, Bear was shaking him awake.

"We're here," Bear said softly. She helped him out of the car and practically carried him to Command. Freckles started to follow behind them, but then went up to Alec's other side to help him keep going. Alec stopped though as they got closer to Command. Bear came to a stop and looked at him in concern.

"I-I don't want her to see me like this," Alec finally said. His chest was tight with nerves and now he wished that he'd just passed out in the car.

"Alec," Bear said softly. "She wants to see you. You were the only person she wanted to see when she woke up in the hospital. And she's been looking for you ever since she found out you were missing."

Alec looked over at her with pleading eyes, "You're sure?"

"Oh Honey, I'm sure," Bear said. "Now can we go inside so we can get you taken care of?"

Alec nodded and they started moving again. It was just a few more minutes, and then they were walking into Command. People stopped what they were doing and looked at them in shock when they walked by, but Alec didn't see Max right away.

"You people takin' a break early or what?" Mole suddenly growled. Max popped up slightly behind him and Alec felt relief pour in.

"Max," Alec barely called out. Max and Mole both turned at the sound of his voice, but Alec only saw Max.

"Alec," Max breathed.

"Hey Maxie," Alec said with a small smile now that he had her attention.

She started to slowly walk towards him and he shrugged out of his support and took tentative steps towards her. She moved faster the closer she got, and then practically slammed against him. He held her, but they only stayed standing for just a second. He couldn't hold both of them up, but neither of them cared. He had her in his arms again and that was all that mattered.

"You're alive," Max said with a smile. She was on top of him and it was painful, but he didn't care. She kissed him before he could say anything to her and he closed his eyes at finally getting to do this again. She broke off their kiss, and then started kissing him all over his face.

He smiled under her kisses and tried to meet her lips again with his own, but she wouldn't let him. She shifted a little and he couldn't stop his sound of pain. She immediately stopped kissing him and got up to her knees so she was straddling him.

"Oh Alec," Max said softly as she looked him over. "C'mon, we've gotta get you fixed up."

Alec let her pull him to his feet and he leaned against her once he was up. Everything was ok now that he was with her again.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	16. Chapter 16

_Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Sorry for the delay, but here's the next chapter, hope you all like it!_

* * *

Alec was starting to feel a little overwhelmed. Max and Bear were both with him, which was fine, and Rocky and Freckles were fine too. But everyone else in Command was following and trying to find out what was going on. They were all asking him questions and all he wanted to do was lay down.

He looked over at Max who was helping him walk and she looked back at him. He silently begged her to fix this, and then she shot a look to everyone else.

"Ok people, everyone except Bear, Rocky, and myself needs to beat it," Max announced.

"And Freckles," Alec whispered to her.

"And Freckles," Max tacked on, she shot a curious look to Alec, but he just shook his head at her.

He didn't want to talk anymore; he was too tired to talk. Max must have realized this because she did most of the talking for him. She led him to the Infirmary and Doc met them once they were inside.

"Glad to finally see you again," Doc said to Alec, going over to his other side to help him. "I was getting a little bored here by myself."

"We can't have that," Alec said with a small smile.

"And I thought you were supposed to be resting," Doc said to Max.

She scowled back at Doc and said, "Alec's back and I'm not tired."

Doc shook his head and led Alec over to one of the beds. Alec hissed as they eased him back, but it was still the most comfortable he'd been in days. Max looked at him in concern, and when Alec looked around he saw that everyone was giving him that same look.

"Ok, no one's allowed to give me that look anymore," Alec grumbled after a minute. "I'm hurt; I'm not about to keel over."

Doc chuckled a little and put him on an IV, but then stopped and looked over at Freckles in confusion. "Who's this?"

"Um, this is Freckles," Max said slowly, still unsure about who that actually was.

"You actually should look at him first," Alec said. "He got shot while we were escaping."

There were about a million protests after he said that, and Alec shot a look over to Freckles to see him smirking. Alec shot him a look to show how unamusing he thought this was and Freckles actually laughed at him a little.

"Y'know, we have more than one person that can take care of a gunshot wound," Doc finally said. He went over to Freckles and got him in the bed next to Alec's, and then called over another transgenic to help. He pulled over two chairs and made Max and Rocky sit down before he went back to Alec's side.

Max did not look happy about sitting down, but when she moved to get up, Rocky pulled her back down.

Doc brought over a pair of scissors and quickly cut off Alec's shirt. Max tried to jump up again when she saw the damage done to him, but Rocky pulled her back down. Bear nodded over to Max to signal that she would take care of him, and Max relaxed just a tiny bit.

Doc started cleaning his cuts, and Alec tried to ignore the burning of the antiseptic. He knew it had to be done, but it still sucked and he had a lot of cuts. Doc had to stitch a few of them up, but some of them had already started to heal.

"I got stabbed in the leg too…" Alec mumbled. Doc helped him get out of his pants, and then fixed up his leg too.

Doc checked for broken bones after he was done with the knife wounds. Alec tried to scoot away from him once he got to his broken ribs, but Doc and Bear both held him in place. Max got up again and threw off Rocky's grip to come sit by him. She grabbed his hand in hers and squeezed a little to try and comfort him.

"Are you cold?" Max asked softly after a few minutes. Alec hadn't realized he'd been shivering until she pointed it out. But once she did, his shivering became a lot worse. He shrugged even though it was obvious that he was cold, and Max looked to Bear to help her out.

Bear was already two steps ahead of her though, and held out a blanket for Max to put around him. "You're burning up…" Max whispered as she put the blanket over his shoulders. Doc put his hand against Alec's forehead, and then frowned.

"He's had that fever for a couple days," Freckles suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention. Freckles looked uncomfortable for a second, and then explained, "They weren't sure what brought it on, but it's only gotten worse. They also didn't know if it was the fever or whatever they injected him with that caused the hallucinations…"

Alec had tried to signal for Freckles to stop talking, but he'd just kept on going. Max looked at him in concern so he mumbled, "'M fine…" Max didn't look like she wanted to let it go, but she ended up just brushing his hair back from his forehead with her fingers and lightly kissed his jaw.

"I'll be sure to keep an eye on that," Doc muttered to himself as he checked a few more things. "I'm going to clean up your wrists and bandage them, and then you can get some sleep ok?"

Alec nodded and let Doc do his thing. It was just a little while later and his wrists were bandaged; his injuries hidden like they had never happened. Max and Doc helped him lay down completely, and then Max pulled the covers up over him. She got in next to him, but she was careful to not touch him.

"'M ok, Maxie…" Alec mumbled as he started to drift off. "'M not gonna break…"

"I just don't want to hurt you," Max whispered.

"You won't…"

Max scooted a little closer until she was pressed against him with her head resting on his pillow. Alec knew she wouldn't get any closer until he was better, so this would have to do. Max actually fell asleep before he did and he turned his head a little to kiss her forehead, and then drifted off.

* * *

Alec woke up a few hours later, freezing. Max was still asleep next to him and he didn't want to wake her up. He looked around to see who else was there and his eyes landed on Bear. She looked back at him, instantly alert.

She got up from her chair and walked over to the side of the bed that Max wasn't on and sat down next to him. "Are you thirsty? Do you need Doc?"

"Cold," Alec breathed out.

Bear put her hand against his forehead, and then frowned in concern. She went and got a few more blankets and tucked them around him. He was still cold, but he didn't think that was really going to change for a while.

Alec looked to the side and saw that Freckles was awake and was looking at him with worry. "How ya doin' Freckles?" Alec asked to throw off the concern.

Freckles chuckled a little, "Doin' pretty good. How about you?"

Alec nodded, and then said with a small smile, "Can't complain."

It was quiet for a minute, and then Freckles asked, "What's your name, kid?"

"Alec. And I'm guessing your name isn't actually Freckles…"

"Chase."

Alec thought about it for a second, and then said, "I think I might still call you Freckles."

"That's fine with me Kid," Freckles said with a smile.

Alec looked around at his group of friends. He knew Freckles didn't really know any of them so he quickly introduced, "That's Bear, she's technically my bodyguard." Bear glanced up from the magazine she had picked up and looked at Freckles, and then back down. "That's Rocky sleeping in the chair, and he's Max's bodyguard. And this is Max," Alec said, glancing down at Max.

"Is she the one you saw?" Freckles asked. Alec just stared back at him so Freckles quickly explained, "You talk in your sleep sometimes and you said 'Max'…and I only knew about the hallucinations because you seemed to watch someone who wasn't there. I'm sorry about bringing it up before…"

Alec nodded, but he didn't really want to talk about this so he asked with a small smirk, "Do you know how to get rid of a fever?"

"Sleep is usually a pretty good medicine," Freckles replied.

Alec nodded again and thought about it, but he didn't really want to sleep. He was still exhausted, but everything hurt too much to really be comfortable. "You'd probably say no if I asked you to knock me out, right?" Alec asked after a minute. Bear shot him a sharp look and Freckles gave a wary glance to Bear.

"Um, you're right, I'd have to say no to that," Freckles said.

Bear relaxed a little, but then stood up and left the room. Alec was too tired to look where she had disappeared to, but he didn't have to wait long. She came back after a minute with Doc in tow.

Doc sat on the edge of his bed and checked his vitals and checked his fever. Alec didn't really have the strength to tell him to knock it off. Doc changed out his IV bag and said, "We can try some painkillers if you want. You might be able to fall asleep before it wears off."

"Doesn't hurt to try I guess…" Alec muttered.

"I'd give you something stronger, but I don't know what all they put into you," Doc replied. "It could have a bad reaction."

Alec looked over to Freckles, hopefully. Maybe he knew what all they injected him with. But he just shook his head sadly and said, "They didn't let us know that kind of thing."

"Alright, we'll try this, and if this doesn't work then we'll come up with another idea, ok?" Doc asked softly. Alec nodded back his agreement and took the pills that Doc gave him. The pain started to ease after about 20 minutes and he managed to doze off again.

* * *

He was burning up this time. He was still mostly asleep, but he managed to kick off every blanket that was covering him. He didn't know why he was so hot, but he felt like he was on fire. They probably injected him again with that stuff that made his blood boil.

Someone tried to hold him down and he didn't have the strength to resist them, but that didn't mean he just gave in. He still tried to throw them off, but another two sets of hands joined the first ones. They were gentler than he expected, but they were restraining him just the same.

"We're just going to hurt him more if we keep this up…"

"Max, you talk to him. Calm him down."

It was a few seconds before one hand moved from his shoulder and stroked through his hair. "Alec, it's me…" Max whispered after a second. Alec had already figured Max was there, she was with him all the time anyway so why wouldn't she be there now? It was weird that the guards were talking to her. They shouldn't be able to see her.

"Alec, please wake up. We don't want to cause you more pain…" It was also weird that imaginary Max was talking to him. She usually just stayed with him; he could still touch her, but she never spoke. He vaguely wondered what had changed to make her talk.

"We need to cool him down. Go get some ice packs from the Mess Hall."

A set of hands left him, but another set replaced them seconds later. He must have been going downhill too fast for their little science experiment. They couldn't let him off the hook that easily. Manticore had been the same; he'd been on death's door before, but they refused to let him go because he was either too expensive, too useful, or they just weren't done with him yet.

He was tired of playing their games. He was really just plain tired. He didn't want to do this anymore; he didn't want to fight or be tortured, all he had wanted was to see Max again. Technically, he'd already seen her again in his hallucination. That was going to have to be good enough.

He suddenly went completely limp under the restraining hands and started to give up. Frantic hands shook his shoulders, "Alec, you can't do this. Wake up!"

"I've got the ice packs," Someone said breathlessly.

"He's stopped breathing!"

"Alec, I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt…"

Someone pressed hard against his broken ribs and he couldn't help gasping in pain. His eyes flew open and he tried to push off the hands that were hurting him, but they were already gone. Everything was spinning so it took him a minute to realize that it was Doc standing beside him. His Max was sitting next to him on the bed and Freckles was standing by Doc. Bear was at the end of his bed with ice packs in her hands and Rocky was standing close by just in case he needed to jump in and help.

"Sorry about that," Doc said again. "But we really needed to wake you up."

Max kissed his temple, and then pulled him closer to her. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled against his neck. He slowly started to relax against her, but he still wasn't entirely convinced that he wasn't dreaming. This felt too good to be true; he wasn't this lucky.

Doc took the ice packs from Bear and started putting them on him. The temperature difference was a shock against his burning skin, but his arms felt too heavy to move them. He was starting to lose his energy again, and didn't think he would be awake for much longer.

"Your fever spiked to an alarming degree and Max was the one to realize it and called us over," Doc started explaining. "I'm trying to bring it down now, but you'll probably feel like you're freezing again soon."

Alec just closed his eyes and ignored Doc. He was too tired to reply or to do anything really. He felt Max's lips against his cheek, and then he drifted off again.

* * *

Alec was freezing again when he woke up, but at least this time he knew where he was. He didn't freak out on them, he just woke up shivering. They had put the blankets back on him, but they still weren't enough. He was shivering so much that he expected he was shaking the bed.

Max suddenly pressed herself closer to him, and he looked down at her at the surprise warmth she was providing. She looked back up at him and gave him a small smile seeing he was awake.

"You ok?" She whispered after a moment.

Alec nodded back, and then mumbled, "'M just cold."

"I know," Max replied in sympathy. She wrapped her arm around his waist out of habit, but he couldn't hide his wince of pain. She immediately pulled away and Alec sighed at the loss. "Alec, I'm so sorry," Max quickly apologized.

"I'm alright, Maxie," Alec said. He tried to pull her closer, but she stubbornly refused. He looked down at her again and silently begged her to come closer. He needed the contact and the comfort right now. He needed her right now even if it hurt for a moment.

She looked back at him with her warm, brown eyes and she must have known what he was silently asking of her. She finally scooted closer to him until she was pressed against his side. She rested her head on his chest, but then glanced up at him to see if he was still ok. He actually chuckled a little and nodded that he was fine.

She rested her hand on his stomach, and then looked at him again. He rolled his eyes and ended up just grabbing her hand and holding it with his own. He rested both of their hands on his stomach and lightly brushed his thumb over her knuckles.

"So, what have you been up to while I've been on leave?" Alec asked lightly after a few minutes.

"Well, I got shot," Max replied just as lightly.

"I did hear that…although, at the time I wasn't sure if they were telling the truth or not," Alec said. "And there was the little problem with figuring out what was real…" Something tickled at his memory, but he ignored it for now.

"Alec…" Max said, concern creeping back into her voice.

"Max…" Alec replied, hoping to get on her nerves so she would drop what she was about to ask. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off before she could say anything. "What happened with Logan? I'm kinda surprised the computer geek isn't around considering everything that's happened…" Max opened her mouth to reply again, but Alec couldn't stop rambling now. "I mean he's got the cure now, you got shot, I was missing, I mean, c'mon, he's missing his golden opportunity. You still have to make your decision and even though right now I think I'm winning with this whole pathetic, I can't even move act, he's missing out on his chance. I mean, I don't want to give the guy any pointers, but right now, I'm kicking his ass and it's not really a competition. I thought this guy was supposed to be smart, but he doesn't seem that smart-"

"Alec!" Max finally cut in. Alec looked down at her in surprise so Max said, "I already made my decision." Alec still looked at her in confusion; if she had made her decision, then why was she with him right now? "I picked you, you idiot!" Max said almost lovingly when she figured out that he still wasn't getting it. "I knew even before our little conference room meeting, but then you went to go watch the fence and I couldn't tell you yet. And then you go and get captured! Don't ever do that to me again," Max commanded. "I didn't even know you were captured until after I woke up in the hospital…"

"I should have been there when you woke up," Alec said guiltily. "Well, actually I should have been here to make sure you didn't get shot in the first place."

"Alec, you would've just been shot too. And I…I wouldn't be able to handle it if you died," Max admitted with a whisper.

Alec's breath caught in his chest and he felt the urge to tell Max that he loved her, but he couldn't get the words out. He did love her, he just still wasn't convinced that she felt the same. She was looking at his hand holding hers, so she didn't notice his inner struggle.

"I was worried about you," Max breathed out after a moment. "And I missed you."

"I missed you too," Alec said, pressing a kiss in Max's hair. He hesitated for a minute, but then he decided that she would eventually ask anyway and he might as well just tell her now. "I know you heard Freckles earlier…about the hallucinations…" Max glanced up at him, but she didn't say anything so he continued, "They injected me with something…I don't know what it was, but it was bad. That's when you showed up. You just came in and stayed with me, and then you disappeared. You came back on the next round, and then stayed from then on…"

"Do you still see the other me?" Max asked softly.

Alec shook his head, "No, you disappeared before the escape…but I'm still not entirely sure this is real…It's kinda too good to be true."

"This is real, Alec," Max instantly reassured.

Alec chuckled a little, "Y'know, that's what a hallucination would say too."

Max thought for a moment, and then scooted up until she was level with him. "If I was a hallucination, could I do this?" She slowly moved forward until she pressed her lips against his. He tilted his head a little as she moved her hand to his hair. He started to move his hand to her waist, but it required too much movement on his part, so he settled for touching her shoulder.

He opened his mouth just a little and she instantly took advantage of his invitation. She was soft against him and he wished more than anything that he could move without gasping at the pain. She was very conscious to the fact that he was hurt, and she was almost too gentle with him. He lightly bit her bottom lip, and then smiled when she looked at him in surprise.

She kissed him again, but she didn't let him do anything to distract her. She broke off the kiss, and then kissed the corner of his mouth. She kissed his cheek and trailed kisses to his jaw and up to his ear. "Are you convinced yet?" Max asked quietly. "Or do I need to keep going?"

"I'm not going to stop you," Alec breathed out.

"Answer the first question," Max said, lightly kissing his jaw again and down his neck. She bit him just a little bit and he almost shivered.

"I forgot the question…" Alec replied with a small smirk.

Max pulled away from him and he groaned at the loss. She looked right at him and asked, "Do you think this is real?"

Alec shrugged, "I don't know…I could just have an overactive imagination." She ran her fingers through his hair, and then settled back against him with her head resting on his shoulder and chest. "Hey, I thought you were going to try and convince me some more," Alec said with a small pout.

"I can try again later," Max said with a sly smile. "Besides, you probably need to rest some more so you can get rid of that fever."

"I don't know, that kiss warmed me right up," Alec replied. "Feeling better already."

Max's eyebrows rose in disbelief, "You wanna try sitting up then?"

Alec thought about it for a minute and then said, "Nah, I think I like lying down better…"

"That's what I thought," Max said with a satisfied smirk.

"Hey, you do know that I managed to get out of that place, right?" Alec asked. He knew that had mostly been because of Freckles, but that didn't mean he didn't manage to walk by himself for a while.

"How did you get out of there anyway?" Max asked softly. "You've been mostly unconscious for a while and you never told me. And who's Freckles? How did he help? And-"

"Max, I'll tell you if you stop asking a million questions," Alec said in amusement. Max glared up at him, but then changed her look to one of expectancy; waiting for him to get on with it. "Well, Freckles was one of my guards. I still don't know why he did it, but he said he wanted to help me, and then we took down Meathead, my other guard."

"Meathead?" Max asked with a frown. "That was the best you could come up with?"

"Hey, they aren't great names, but they were the best I could come up with under the circumstances," Alec quickly defended. "Now, are you going to let me talk, or not?"

Max huffed, "Fine, keep going. I'll be quiet."

"He wanted to leave right away, but I kinda wanted a little revenge…" Alec said sheepishly, realizing now how that could have been a big mistake. His little detour could have kept him from his freedom. "The General wasn't there; he was the one I was really after since he did all of this, but the Mayor was there…" He was quiet for a minute, waiting for Max to say something, but she didn't. "I shot him, Max." He didn't regret doing it, but he was a little worried to find out how Max would feel about it.

The silence started to stretch until finally, Alec couldn't take it anymore. "Max, say something."

"You told me to be quiet!" Max shot back.

Alec rolled his eyes, "Now you decide to listen to me…"

"I don't know what you want me to say," Max started out. "I don't want to condone killing him, but at the same time that man was evil. I can't blame you for killing him because I wanted to do the same thing. And if I get my hands on the General, I can guarantee you he would quickly follow in the Mayor's footsteps for what he did to you."

Alec didn't know what to say to that; he was speechless with the fact that Max would do that for him. He would have no problem taking out the General, but he knew Max actually had a moral compass that told her killing was wrong. His moral compass was a little more skewed than hers and the fact that she would even consider killing the General was something he had never imagined. He wouldn't actually let her go through with it, the burden would be his to bear, but the fact that she was willing was what touched him.

"Alec?" Max asked in concern when the silence started to stretch. "Are you ready to sleep some more? Or do you need something?"

"Thanks Max," Alec just whispered back, placing a kiss against her forehead. She looked up at him in confusion, but he just shook his head and rested his cheek against the smooth skin of her temple.

"You need to shave," Max grumbled when his stubble scratched her.

Alec hummed his agreement as his eyelids started to grow heavy. He felt a feather light kiss against his lips before he was out again.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	17. Chapter 17

Max slowly got back into Alec's bed. Her chest still hurt a little and she knew it was because she wasn't resting as much as she should be, but Alec took priority. He was a mess thanks to what the General had done to him. His fever had finally broken last night and he'd started to sleep for longer periods of time, which was good. But even with the fever gone, he still wasn't eating much and what he did eat, just came back up later.

Alec's bed was now a double bed since Doc had pushed another one up against Alec's. Doc had tried to get Max to sleep by herself so she could rest more comfortably, but she had refused. So, Doc had eventually given up and pushed the beds together.

Alec looked over at her with bleary eyes when she crawled under the covers next to him. He closed his eyes again when he realized it was just her and went back to sleep. He was still having trouble believing that this was real, but he hadn't completely freaked out on them again since his fever had gone down.

Max was a little surprised that they were still in the Infirmary. She had expected that Alec would try to talk his way out of there as soon as his fever had gone down, but he hadn't. She knew he still had a lot of recovering to do, but he usually hated it in the Infirmary.

"How's he doin'?"

Max looked over in surprise at the bed next to Alec's. Freckles was still in the Infirmary since he was an Ordinary and Max wasn't really sure what else to do with him. He couldn't stay in TC for very much longer because of the toxins, but she knew Alec would miss his new friend when he left.

"His fever broke last night," Max said in reply. She really didn't know how she felt about the man. He had helped Alec escape, for which she was extremely grateful, but he'd also been the cause of some of Alec's pain, which she couldn't stop thinking about.

"That's good," Freckles said. "He's a tough kid…"

"What's your real name?" Max suddenly asked. Everyone had just been calling him Freckles since that was what Alec called him, but Max was curious. Ordinaries usually had relatively normal names and she highly doubted that the name Alec made up for him was his real name. That would be one Hell of a coincidence if it was.

"Chase," he said.

"Do you have a family?"

Chase gave her a small smile and teased, "Are you trying to get rid of me, Max?"

Max blushed a little in embarrassment and she stammered, "Umm, no, I didn't mean it like that…"

"Well, to answer your question, no, I don't have a family," Chase replied. "I'm an only child and my parents died a couple years ago in a fire. And I've been too busy to settle down."

Max was a little uncomfortable asking this next question, but she thought that Alec would probably try to avoid it at all costs. "What are you going to do after you're healed?"

Chase pointed at her with a smile, "Ah ha! You are trying to get rid of me!"

"I'm just curious!" Max tried to defend, sitting up straighter to properly face off with this man.

Chase laughed, "Easy Max, the Kid said you were easy to rile up, I just had to see if he was right."

Max glared back at him, "Alec told you that?!"

Chase was still laughing, but he nodded to answer her question. She scowled at Alec, but he was still sleeping peacefully next to her. She would have to find a way to get back at him for this.

"I didn't really have a plan for after this…Getting the Kid out was my main focus, and then…" Chase trailed off and shrugged. "I didn't think much further than that."

"I don't think I ever thanked you for getting him out, so, um, thank you," Max said quietly.

Chase shrugged, "I just wish I would have gotten him out of there sooner…"

It was quiet for a few minutes, and then Max said, "There's a guy you could stay with if you wanted. Terminal City is toxic to humans so unfortunately you can't stay here too long, otherwise I would let you. But this guy comes in a lot to help out and you can come with him if you want. You don't have to stay with him at all if you don't want to…Anyway, we're trying to clean this place up so it's safe for humans to stay here, but it's taking a long time-"

"Max…you're rambling," Alec suddenly breathed out. Max shot a look to him and saw that his eyes were still closed, but his breathing had changed so it wasn't as slow and even. Max was surprised she hadn't noticed him waking up before; she was attuned to his body now that they had been spending so much time together and she should have noticed the change in his breathing.

She immediately ran her fingers through his hair to try and get him to wake up the rest of the way. He grabbed her hand, and then lightly kissed her fingers before he finally opened his eyes.

She smiled when she saw his bright green eyes land on her. He gave her a soft smile in return, and then slowly started to lever himself up to his elbows. Max helped him sit up and propped the pillows up behind him so he could lean against them. His face drained of color when he sat up and he had to close his eyes against the pain of his ribs, but he was up without heaving his lunch, so that was an improvement.

"What were you rambling about anyway…" Alec mumbled. His eyes were still closed and she knew he wanted a distraction.

"I was trying to convince Chase to go stay with Logan for a while," Max replied.

"Who the Hell is Chase?" Alec grumbled, opening his eyes a crack.

"Freckles," Max said with a scowl. Alec's eyes lit up in recognition right before she said that, but he'd connected the dots too slowly.

"I completely forgot your real name," Alec said apologetically.

"It's ok Kid," Chase said in amusement. "You told me you were going to call me Freckles anyway."

"You really want to stay with Logan?" Alec asked after a moment. "I mean, he's a nice guy, but he's also the most annoying person I've ever met."

"Alec, be nice," Max said.

"Hey, if he's got a place and he's ok with it, then it's alright with me," Chase replied. "I'm invested now, so I wanna stick around as much as I can."

"Then I'll ask him," Max said simply. "And if he's not ok with it, then I have a room you can stay in with one of my friends."

"Why wasn't that the first offer?" Alec asked in amusement.

"Because Logan has more space," Max replied. "Now, you stay here while I go get Doc."

Alec groaned, but he didn't move. Max ran over to Doc's office and poked her head inside. He had a tiny office with a desk in the middle. The desk was piled with papers and Doc was leaning back in his chair, his feet on the desk, and his mouth slightly open in sleep. Max's face fell a little; she'd like for Alec to get checked over again, but Doc really needed his sleep too. He'd been up even more than she had, keeping constant supervision over Alec.

She decided that his sleep was more important right now, so she went back to the main room. Alec looked over expectantly, but then changed to confusion when he didn't see Doc behind her. She looked around the room for a minute, trying to decide what to do next. She needed to get some food for Alec, but at the same time, she didn't want to leave him.

Rocky was asleep on one of the other beds and Bear had gone back to her apartment to freshen up a bit. Chase was still recovering and there was no way Max was letting Alec out of that bed any time soon.

"Max, what are you doing?" Alec said with a sigh.

"I'm trying to figure out how to get food brought here instead of leaving you…" Max muttered.

"Y'know, I think I can make it 5 minutes by myself," Alec replied.

"I know!" Max said suddenly, "I can radio it in…"

"Max," Alec growled, but she ignored him. She should have thought about this sooner, but she didn't really care.

She picked up one of the radios in the room, and called in to Command, "Mole, this is Max. Send someone down to the Mess Hall and have them bring up some soup for Alec and Chase."

"Who the Hell is Chase?" Mole grumbled at the same time Alec said, "And some for you too."

Max rolled her eyes at both of them, and then said, "Chase is Freckles, he actually has a name even though no one even bothers to ask him." Chase started laughing in the background, but she just ignored him. "And have them bring some soup for me and Rocky too…" Max said.

"Alright Princess," Mole said. "I'll get you your food. Tell Pretty Boy to hurry up and get healed already cause I'm tired of being under your beck and call. I like it better when you order him around instead of me."

"You're always so delightful to talk to, Mole," Max said.

"Likewise."

Max huffed, and then put the radio down again so she could go back to Alec. She sat next to him and he leaned until their arms were touching. She grabbed his hand with hers and rested her head against his. She lightly traced the lines on his hand, but tried her best to ignore the bandage around his wrist. She hated seeing the reminder of what he'd been through; what she was unable to prevent.

"Alright Princess, where do you want it?" Mole grumbled, walking into the room with a tray full of soup bowls.

"Just set it down somewhere and I'll get it in a minute," Max said, but she didn't make any move to actually get up. She was too comfortable next to Alec and she didn't think she was going to bother getting up at all.

Mole growled something unintelligible, but Max thought he said something about already having it and he'd just do it. He started passing out the bowls of soup and Max watched him in shock.

"Don't get used to it Princess. This is a one-time deal and I'm not pickin' up after you," Mole said.

"Thanks Mole," Max called out as he quickly retreated. He waved behind him, but he just kept walking.

Max took a small sip of the hot soup and sighed as the delicious liquid slid down her throat. She shot a quick glance to Alec to see if he was enjoying his soup, but he hadn't eaten any yet. He was just looking down at his soup and slowly stirring the steamy contents.

"Y'know, it's better if you put the soup _in_ your mouth…" Max muttered.

Alec just shrugged back, making Max frown. When Alec ate earlier, he ate like he was starving, now it was like the soup was poisonous and he didn't want to touch it.

"It's actually pretty good compared to what they usually do down in the Mess," Max tried to say playfully. A smile tugged at his lips, but he still didn't move to take a bite of soup. Max took one hand off of her bowl and slowly rubbed Alec's back. She leaned a little closer and whispered, "Alec, please eat some."

"I'll probably just throw it up again…" Alec whispered back. Max leaned against his shoulder to try and give him some comfort. The last time he'd eaten, he'd woken up a few hours later, throwing up everything in his stomach. Max hadn't been able to do much to help him; she rubbed his back as he heaved, but that was all she could do. Tears had started leaking out of her eyes at the small whimpers Alec had been trying to cover up as he tried to hold himself together. Throwing up normally was unpleasant, but with his broken ribs, it was excruciating.

"Alec," Max said softly, "You have to eat to get your strength back." Alec didn't say anything. Max didn't know how to convince him to eat so she decided to just beg him, "Alec, please. Please eat something."

Alec just stirred his soup some more, and then finally mumbled, "Your soup's getting cold."

"So is yours," Max shot back, but she took another bite of soup just so she could have something to do.

She tried to keep from watching him, but she wasn't doing a very good job. She couldn't stop her small smile from forming when he finally tried some of his soup. Max lightly kissed his jaw, and then went back to eating.

* * *

"Alright, what do you want us to do with your shooter?" Mole asked. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

Max was still sitting by Alec, but now Rocky, Bear, Chase, and Doc were all awake and gathered around. Mole, Dix, and Lucky were all there too so they could ask her to clear some things up for them. She was still in charge even though she was still technically supposed to be in the hospital.

"Has anyone questioned him?" Alec asked quietly. He was worn out from being awake for so long, and he still hadn't been able to keep down his soup. He was barely sitting up against the pillows; he looked terrible, but he hadn't allowed her to tell everyone to get out. They still had things to do even though they were both out of commission.

"No, we were waiting to find out what you two wanted to do with him," Mole grumbled.

"We need to find out who he's working for," Alec said. He shifted a little, but then closed his eyes and just stayed where he was.

"Who he's working for?" Max and Mole asked at the same time.

"Did they hit you one too many times in the head, Pretty Boy, or did you forget who held you captive and beat the shit outta you?" Mole asked.

"Alec," Max said softly, "The Mayor sent him…"

"We heard that the Mayor was planning another attempt on Max, remember?" Bear asked him slowly.

Alec shook his head, "No, I didn't remember before, but it wasn't them…"

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"Freckles, tell 'em…" Alec mumbled. He sounded so tired; Max wanted to let him sleep some more, but she was also curious to find out what Alec and Chase knew.

"Oh, um…yeah, those two didn't know who was responsible for shooting you," Chase said hesitantly, uncertain with all the attention.

"If they weren't in charge, then who was?" Max asked. Everyone just looked around; no one knew the answer to that question.

"I guess it's time to question the guy that shot you then," Alec muttered. He snuggled down against his pillows and closed his eyes. Max grabbed his hand and stroked his thumb with hers. She leaned over a little and barely kissed his cheek.

Mole made a disgusted noise, "Could you keep your disgusting love to yourself for five minutes?"

"No," Max said, sticking her tongue out at the giant lizard. Alec gave a tired smirk, but he didn't open his eyes. Mole rolled his eyes and turned away from them.

"Max, what do you want us to do?" Rocky asked after a minute.

"Not you, you're still recovering," Bear said sternly.

"I'm fine," Rocky grumbled, but Max couldn't help but agree with Bear on this one.

"I can do it," Max said. She agreed that Rocky shouldn't go, but she felt she needed to be there to question him. He'd tried to kill her and she needed answers. She knew it was hypocritical of her, but she didn't care.

The room immediately erupted in protests.

"If I can't do it, there's no way you can!"

"Max, you're still recovering too. I think I'm going to have to advise against this."

"What kind of brainless, self-sacrificing idiot are you?"

The protests continued, but Max stopped listening when she felt Alec squeeze her hand. She turned to look at him and clearly saw the refusal in his eyes. But she saw something else too; a spark that only Alec could manage.

"What are you thinking?" Max asked suspiciously.

"I've got an idea, but don't shoot it down right away, ok?"

"What is it?" Max asked slowly.

* * *

She couldn't believe she went along with this; or really that anyone had gone along with it. They wouldn't let her interrogate the guy, but as soon as Alec suggested it, they thought it was the best idea ever.

"Max, would you calm down?" Alec asked with a sigh. "This is a good idea."

"Not that good…" Max muttered. Alec was sitting in one of the chairs in Command, looking miserable but determined. This was a terrible idea. She wanted to pace, but she was stuck in the chair next to Alec's. She would actually like to lay down again with Alec, but she knew that wasn't even a possibility now. Alec had something he thought he needed to do, and there was no stopping him now.

"I don't know what you think is wrong with it…" Alec said in annoyance.

"Alec, this is ridiculous," Max hissed. "You need to be resting."

"You just don't like it because you didn't think of it first," Alec hissed back.

"This is my plan, but with you interrogating the guy instead of me," Max said angrily. "So technically, I did think of it first."

"Have you ever even interrogated anyone, Max?" Alec asked with a scowl.

"You can barely even stand!" Max whisper yelled instead of answering Alec's question.

"I'm going to be sitting the whole time!" Alec replied.

"I still don't like it," Max growled, sitting back and crossing her arms.

"Bear's gonna be with me," Alec tried to reason. "And you can be in there too if you want."

Max didn't say anything; she hated this whole situation. Why couldn't they just have a moment of peace? Alec needed to rest, not go interrogating people. They should have just gotten rid of the shooter instead of keeping him around for this. But, they needed answers. They needed to know who was behind this so they were ready for the next attack.

"Alright, we're ready," Bear said softly, walking over to the two of them.

Alec slowly got to his feet and Bear and Max moved with him in case he needed support. He waved them off and took slow steps back to the conference room where they were keeping the shooter. Even though Max had said she didn't want to be in there, she still followed Alec all the way there, and then refused to leave him. She had just been stubborn earlier and pouting because she didn't like how this was playing out.

There were two chairs set up in the room anyway; Bear must have known she would want to stay even though she had said otherwise. The shooter was across from the two chairs; he was tied to his own chair and he was blindfolded so he couldn't see Alec or Max.

Mole and Lucky were both in the room and Bear was circling the chair like a shark just in case the shooter tried anything.

Alec sat down and Max didn't miss the relief that crossed his face when he was finally sitting again. Max sat down next to him and waited for Alec to start. She would let him take the lead on this; he had more experience than she did in this area.

"Who are you working for?" Alec asked, his voice steady and soft. He was trying to lure the man into trusting him so he would tell them what they wanted to know.

"You must be 494, I was told about you," the man replied. "You have a cockiness to your voice that other's don't have."

"So whoever you work for knows me. That narrows down the possibilities," Alec said with a smirk.

"There are more people who want you freaks dead than you think," the man replied.

"Not a transgenic either," Alec said with a cocky smile in Max's direction. "You are just a gold mine of information and we've barely even asked you anything."

"I'd rather die than be an abomination like you. And it doesn't matter what you get from me."

Alec started to get up, but Max pulled him back down. She knew he wanted to walk around; he was restless and he needed to move, but he was hurt and she wasn't going to let him.

"You're working for White," Alec suddenly stated.

Max didn't know why she was surprised, but she was. White had snuck in an assassin, and she didn't have a clue.

"I nearly had to spell it out for you, didn't I?"

"Why haven't you broken free yet?" Alec asked. "I know you can." Everyone in the room seemed to tense when they realized what the man was. He was a Familiar, and he had the strength and more than enough reasons to break free, and yet, he hadn't.

"I have a message for you," the man said. He paused for a minute and Max rolled her eyes at his dramatics. "More are on the way. You are all going to die."

* * *

 _I really intended to give them more of a break, but I've got a flare for dramatics sometimes. Especially when I'm sleepy. But, I wanted to get this up before things start to get busy again. So I hope you all like it still, and I'll try to update again soon!_


	18. Chapter 18

_Sorry for the long delay! School is starting again but I'll try to keep updating as much as possible! Hope you all still like it!_

* * *

Alec was suddenly wrenched out of his seat once the Familiar made his ominous statement. He gasped at the pain that the sudden movement caused and he just stumbled after. His vision started to go black and his knees were starting to give out.

"Max…" Alec managed to breathe out. "Stop. Please…"

He knew it was Max who was dragging him around; she was the only one who could get away with this kind of thing. Besides, she wouldn't have allowed anyone else to get this close to him in the state he was in. Max, thankfully, stopped after a few more steps, giving him a chance to catch up.

Max released him and immediately started to pace. Or at least he thought she was pacing. The room was spinning pretty badly so he wasn't really sure. He thought he might throw up, but there was nothing left. He was actually about to pass out; he was getting tunnel vision and he could feel his body shutting down.

"Alec!" Max was suddenly there again; her small, but strong hands were the only things holding him up. "Alec, hey! I'm sorry! I reacted without thinking!"

He'd been bluffing earlier; he wasn't up to actually interrogating anyone. He was exhausted and hurt and he really couldn't believe that Max had gone along with it at all. He'd been lucky though, since the Familiar was more than happy to spill his guts.

"Alec!?"

He really wanted to answer her, but he was doing everything he could just to stay conscious. He just needed a minute to collect himself. He hadn't been ready to suddenly change to a new altitude, and then to be pulled down the hallway.

"Alec?" Max said softly. He could hear the concern in her voice. That was when he realized that at some point his eyes had closed. He couldn't see Max, he could only hear her.

"Too fast…" Alec breathed out, his eyes still closed.

"I'm sorry," Max whispered. She sounded embarrassed and Alec was tempted to open his eyes, but he didn't want to see the room spinning. "…I don't know what came over me…"

"You felt a threat to him, so you left. You were protecting him," Bear's smooth voice suddenly said.

"Great," Alec said sarcastically, "I was hoping I'd have an audience for this."

"Oh, get over it, Alec. Like I'm not used to seeing you passed out on the ground," Bear replied; Alec could hear the small smile in her voice. But then his eyes flew open hearing that he was on the ground again. He groaned when he saw the ceiling; this was becoming a regular occurrence.

But he was really glad to see Max. He didn't know if it was just because his brain had been deprived of oxygen or if he was really just in love with her, but she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He knew he was giving her the goofiest smile ever, but he didn't care.

"You were worried about me," Alec lightly teased.

"Someone has to be," Max said with a smile. She stroked his cheek even though he knew she didn't like the stubble that was there.

"Bear's worried about me," Alec argued.

"Exactly, why else would I follow you two all the way out here?" Bear asked in amusement. She looked between them for a minute, and then sighed, "But, oh, look at the time…You look like you're going to live and I need to go back to the room to make sure Mole and Lucky can handle themselves…"

"Smooth," Alec teased his bodyguard. She smirked at him and patted his shoulder, and then stood up and walked back to the room.

"Alec, I really am sorry," Max said once Bear was gone. She started running her fingers through his hair and he realized that his head was in her lap. He turned into her touch and relaxed a little. "I just panicked I guess. I wasn't about to let anyone hurt you again and it turns out that I was the one that hurt you…"

"I'm alright, Maxie," Alec reassured. He wanted to tease her about it, but she still looked pretty freaked out. "They aren't going to break in right now…" Alec started out slowly. "But we are going to need a plan."

"We are, but right now, you need to rest," Max stated.

She started to move him, but he grabbed her wrist to stop her, "Max, wait…" She stopped and looked at him in concern. "Just wait a minute." She looked confused, but he just looked at her. Her warm, brown eyes were looking back at him and her silky brown hair was falling over her shoulder. She was looking at him with a concern that no one had ever had for him before and he knew right then that he didn't want to ever live without her.

He was in love with her. It was as simple as that. He loved her. He didn't know if she loved him, but he definitely loved her. He didn't want to be anywhere without her.

"I love you," he barely whispered. He could tell that she hadn't heard him because her eyebrows drew together and she cocked her head in concentration; she was trying to figure out what he had said. Either that or she had heard him and just didn't believe him.

He slowly sat up and faced her, and then gently tucked her hair behind her ear. "I love you, Max." The first one had just kind of popped out, but this one he said more confidently. He did love her and he needed her to know it.

Her mouth opened slightly in surprise and her breath quickened. He could hear her heart pounding, and he honestly didn't know what she was thinking.

He let out a dry chuckle after a moment of complete silence and said, "Don't worry Max, you don't have to say it back. It just kinda popped out and I don't expect you to feel the same way, but who knows, we could be dead tomorrow and I can't-"

"Alec, I love you too!" Max said in a rush, interrupting his rambling.

It was his turn to stop and stare in shock. His mouth popped open, and then before he could say anything, Max moved forward and crushed her lips to his. He reached out and pulled her closer, placing his hand on her hip and she tangled her fingers in his hair.

He turned his head to get a better angle and put his other hand against the side of her neck. Her hand that wasn't in his hair was resting on his chest and he knew she could feel the pounding of his heart.

She pulled back after a moment, and then looked at him suspiciously, "Do you really love me?"

He chuckled, "Yes Max. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." Alec tried to kiss her again, but she wouldn't let him.

"This doesn't get you out of resting you know…" Max said, her eyes narrowing .

Alec finally kissed her tenderly, and then smiled against her, "As long as you have to rest with me…"

"I know that tone," Max whispered, smiling back. "And that's not happening…"

"I can be very persuasive," Alec replied. He nuzzled her neck to try and help convince her.

"I think you've used that line on me before…" Max breathed out.

"Doubt it," Alec said with a smirk. "Otherwise you would already know how persuasive I am…"

"What are you two doin' on the floor?" Rocky asked, suddenly walking up to them. Alec rested his forehead against Max and groaned in defeat; there was no way she was going to agree to it now. She rubbed his shoulder sympathetically, and then kissed the top of his head.

"Max freaked out because the guy threatened us and she drug me out here where I just happened to pass out," Alec finally replied, looking up at Rocky. Max's bodyguard was looking at them with a knowing smile. "Y'know, same old thing."

"Are you guys going to go back to the room or what?" Rocky asked suspiciously, his knowing smile widening.

Alec shrugged, "I don't know, the floor is pretty comfy."

"You do spend a lot of time down there," Rocky teased.

"We're actually going back to the Infirmary so we can figure out what to do next," Max said, shooting a scowl over at Alec.

"Alright…Whatever you say, Boss," Rocky said slowly. "I'll tell the others where you are, and then I'll see you guys there…But don't worry, I'll make sure we take a long time to walk…" He winked at them, and then started down the hallway.

"Great," Alec said, glaring at Max, "You've just ruined our chance at alone time."

"We're alone right now," Max said sweetly.

"We're on the floor in a hallway," Alec deadpanned back, "This is so romantic."

"Like the Infirmary would be much better," Max teased.

"At least we have a bed in the Infirmary…" Alec said suggestively, raising his eyebrows at her.

Max just rolled her eyes, and then got to her feet. She reached down and helped him up. She started to move away once he was standing, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back. She looked up at him in surprise and he lightly kissed her lips.

"I love you," Alec said with a wide smile. He felt giddy with the fact that he loved this woman and she loved him back. For some reason she loved him, and he really didn't know why, but he wasn't going to question her now. He loved her.

"I love you too," Max said with an equally wide smile. She rose up on her toes and kissed him back. "Now, are you going to rest or what?"

"Only if you come with me," Alec bargained.

"Where else would I be?" Max asked sarcastically.

Alec looped his arm around her shoulders and Max wrapped her arm around his waist as they walked back to the Infirmary.

* * *

"We need to make a plan," someone whispered.

Alec was still mostly asleep, but he could hear people talking near him. They were whispering so they were trying to work and let him sleep.

He and Max had walked back to the Infirmary, but he'd quickly lost his energy burst as they walked. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out. He'd been exhausted before interrogating the Familiar, but he was almost completely drained by the time they got back to the Infirmary.

He turned a little and almost immediately Max's hand was in his hair; soothing him and trying to ease him back to sleep. She was slightly sitting up next to him and his head was resting on her stomach. He automatically relaxed under her touch and started to slip back to sleep.

"Wake Pretty Boy up so he can help with the plan." Alec was brought back up a little when he heard that. Only Mole called him Pretty Boy and Mole definitely wasn't whispering. He really should wake up, but he didn't want to deal with reality just yet.

Max shushed Mole and Alec could clearly picture the glare she was sending the giant lizard. Alec snuggled against Max, refusing to wake up.

"He's kind of awake," Max said, a smile clear in her voice. "Just start talking and when he doesn't like whatever plan we come up with, he'll wake up."

He frowned, but he didn't fall for Max's trick. She was just saying that so he would wake up, but he really didn't want to.

Mole grumbled a little, but then he said, "The Familiar refuses to give us anything else. Once you two left he decided that we weren't high enough up on the chain of command for him to talk to."

"What do you want us to do with him?" Alec recognized Rocky as the one who was talking this time. "I mean, I know what I would like to do with him, but I can't see you approving that…"

"He could suddenly have an accident," Bear said. Alec imagined she had a mischievous glint in her eyes and a dangerous smirk on her face. Max tensed under him, practically confirming what he imagined.

Alec drifted off again as they started going in circles on what to do with the Familiar. He really wished they could go on the offensive instead of always being on the defensive with these people. That would be different, actually going after them instead of hiding out in this wasteland.

What they should do was let the Familiar go and follow him; let him lead them to White, and then attack. The Familiar would probably know that they were following him though, especially if they just let him go.

They could try and make him think he escaped, put a tracker in him, and then just wait.

Alec's eyes flew open and he immediately jumped out of bed. He swayed and his vision started to go black, but he ignored that and forced himself to remain standing. He ignored the worried calls of his name and instead ran his hands along his arms.

He frantically pulled off his t-shirt and scanned his bruised skin to try and see any bumps just beneath the surface. He didn't see anything. He craned his neck to try and see his back, but he couldn't tell. Max suddenly touched his shoulder; he looked over at her and saw that she was looking back at him with worry.

His heart was pounding though and he knew his eyes were wide with panic. He whirled around and saw that everyone in the room was looking at him in concern. He ignored them all until his eyes landed on Freckles. Without thinking he lunged toward his guard.

He fisted his hands in Freckles' shirt and practically threw the man out of his bed. Alec picked him up again, and then slammed him up against the wall and yelled in his face, "Where is it?!"

Hands were trying to pull him off of Freckles, but he threw them off and glared at Freckles. "WHERE THE FUCK IS IT!?" He hit Freckles against the wall again as he yelled to get him to talk.

Max was frantically trying to get him to release Freckles, but he refused. Freckles was looking back at him with wide eyes, but Alec wasn't falling for it.

"You people injected me with all kinds of shit!" Alec slammed Freckles against the wall again, and then desperately yelled, "WHERE'S THE TRACKER?!"

The room seemed to freeze, but Alec's focus remained on Freckles. His guard still looked confused, but Alec couldn't tell if it was an act or not.

"Answer me!" Alec growled. He was a second away from killing the guard, but he had to find out where the tracker was first and how long they had before the General got there.

"Alec, I swear I don't know," Freckles replied, using Alec's actually name instead of calling him kid. "They didn't let us know what they were injecting you with."

"You're lying," Alec said menacingly. He was practically snarling at Freckles and he knew it wasn't pretty.

"Alec," Max said softly, like she was trying to calm a wild animal. "I don't know if he's lying or not, but why would they track you? They already know where we are…" Max pulled on his arm to get him to release Freckles, and his hold loosened slightly. "C'mon, let's talk about this. We don't have to jump to conclusions."

"They did something to me! They let me go! They planned it!" Alec said frantically. He had to make her see that they were all in danger. He didn't know what they did to him, but why else would Freckles help him escape? "Why did you help me?!"

"Alec, why would the Mayor let you kill him?" Max asked. "They wouldn't help you with that."

Alec ignored her and glared at Freckles, "Answer the question. Why did you help me escape?"

Freckles looked around the room before he finally looked back at Alec. "You reminded me of my brother," Freckles whispered.

Alec stepped back a little and frowned in confusion.

"You told me you were an only child," Max breathed out. Alec's sharp eyes focused back on Freckles and he immediately held his hands up in surrender.

"I only lied about that," Freckles quickly defended. "He died a few months ago and I haven't been dealing with it very well."

"Why should I believe you?" Alec growled.

"You can look it up if you want, but I swear I'm telling the truth," Freckles said. "He was my younger brother, James Redford if you want to look him up. He was stubborn and he was a smart ass, but he never gave up. He never got along with authorities either, especially since he was always smarting off to them."

Freckles looked at Alec, begging him to understand. His eyes filled with tears, and Alec knew they were real.

"He wanted to quit. We both worked under the General and he told me one night that he didn't like this anymore. He wouldn't tell me why, but I knew he was on some top secret assignment with the General. I tried to convince him to stay, but he always did what he wanted. He went to talk to the General the next day, but then he suddenly changed his mind and decided to stay. He got a new assignment and he seemed fine for a while, but then he got sick. He complained about a really sharp pain in his back, and then he just died. They told me his kidney's failed, but he died too fast for it to be kidney failure."

"The General killed him," Alec stated. "He got in the way, so they killed him."

"That's why I helped you," Freckles whispered. "It's what he would have done and you two were so alike…"

"Did he ever mention them giving him a shot after that meeting?" Alec asked. "They had to kill him somehow, so think, did he have to do a medical exam for his new assignment or anything like that?"

"He had to get a few shots, but they weren't anything weird," Freckles said in confusion.

"Did he tell you where he had to get them?" Alec asked.

"He joked around about two in the ass, and then one in the back, but I don't remember what they were for," Freckles replied. "I guess it was weird to get one in the back, but he said it was for a muscle spasm or something. I don't remember…"

Alec took another step back and tried to think. They'd injected him with all sorts of things and taken too many samples to count, but he did remember one injection in his back. His breathing slowed and his eyes closed as he tried to remember where exactly the injection had been on his back.

He'd been strapped to the examination table, lying on his stomach. The lab coat had come in and messed with some things, but Alec had been pretty out of it. This was the day before he'd escaped so he was pretty far gone. But the lab coat had grabbed a massive needle and injected him near where his kidneys were located.

"Doc!" Alec turned and yelled. Doc wasn't circled around him already, but he needed him right now.

"Alec, stop. Talk to me," Max demanded.

"I need Doc. Immediately," Alec stated seriously. If his hunch was right then he was a walking time bomb. But he didn't think Max was going to go along with this at all. He didn't have time to fight with her; he didn't actually know how much time he had left.

"I'll get him," Bear said, and then she sprinted out of the room.

"Alec," Max snapped. "Talk to me."

Alec took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. He rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to think of the right way to tell Max. "I think they injected me with something…And I think that whatever it is, it's gonna kill me."

"What?" Max breathed out. Probably not the best way, but he couldn't think of any other way to tell her.

"I think there's a bomb in my back," Alec said slowly. "I think it's the same thing that killed Freckles' brother, and I have no idea how long I have until it goes off."

"How are we supposed to get a bomb out of your back?" Max asked, her eyes wide with panic.

"That's why I need Doc…" Alec muttered. He turned and scanned the room, praying that Doc would appear at any second. He didn't know how this was going to work, but it was his only chance.

Max grabbed his face and made him meet her eyes, "Alec, please, let's think about this a little more. I know what you're thinking, but this isn't a good idea. You need to get this done at a hospital, not here."

"I may not have enough time for that," Alec whispered, putting his hands over hers.

"Alec," Max breathed out, tears filling her eyes.

"I'm going to be alright," Alec tried to reassure. In truth he was scared; this felt too much like the time he had a bomb in the back of his neck. Except this time he didn't know how much time he had left. The bomb could blow at any minute and turn his insides to mush.

"Alec, what's wrong?" Doc suddenly asked as he and Bear ran into the room.

Alec looked to Max one last time. She was silently pleading with him to change his mind, but he couldn't. If he wanted to spend his life with Max then this needed to happen now. They had wasted too much time as it was. This bomb could blow at any second.

Alec grabbed Max's hand, and then stated, "I need your help."

* * *

 _More soon!_


	19. Chapter 19

"Alec, I don't think this is a good idea," Doc said in his calm and reasonable tone. Max felt better just with Doc in the room; he was her last chance at talking Alec out of this. This was crazy, but he wasn't listening to her. "I don't have the equipment here to even see where this could be."

"You're my only chance at getting out of this," Alec said. And damn him for sounding so sure; he knew that this would work, she could hear it in his voice.

"One wrong move and I could paralyze you," Doc tried to reason. "I could set off the bomb and kill you. You could bleed out on the table."

"Don't sugar coat it Doc," Alec said with a small smirk.

"And it's going to hurt," Doc said, ignoring Alec. "We don't have any way to put you under and the painkillers aren't going to last long enough for your metabolism."

"So just like at good ole Manticore," Alec said with a smile.

Max grabbed his hand, dreading what was going to come. Alec squeezed her hand, trying to comfort her. He was the one with a bomb in his back and he was trying to comfort her. But she really didn't want him to do this. She didn't want the bomb to go off either, but there had to be another way.

"Alec, please," Max begged quietly. "I can't lose you."

"Then we have to do this," Alec replied earnestly.

"Alec," Max pleaded. She felt so helpless right now. She was used to being able to actually do something when someone she loved was in danger, but she couldn't do anything right now. She loved Alec and the thought of losing him…she couldn't even imagine what that would do to her.

"Max, listen to me," Alec said. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "Either we take out this bomb or it blows up. Both options suck, but at least if we take it out, I have a chance."

"I'm not saying we shouldn't take it out," Max said quickly. "I'm saying that you should be smart and go to the hospital where they can take an x-ray and see it and make it so you don't die!"

"I'm not gonna die Max," Alec tried to reassure. She still wasn't convinced. "Ok, look Max, think about it. I'm all about self-preservation. I'm too selfish to let this bomb get me." Alec tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and then whispered, "I love you Max. And I'm not going to leave you."

A high pitched squeal erupted behind them and Alec and Max turned in surprise. Max couldn't believe it when she saw that Bear had her hand over her mouth in excitement. Rocky came over and picked her up and spun her around, and then they jumped around with joy.

"Did you hear that?!" Bear asked with delight. This was the happiest Max had ever seen her before. Bear lightly pushed Rocky who had a wide smile splitting his face.

"He finally admitted it!" Rocky exclaimed.

"She has to say it too though," Bear hissed.

Max rolled her eyes and Alec chuckled, but she didn't get a chance to say it back. Lucky ran in before she could, drawing everyone's attention.

"Max, we have a problem," Lucky said, slightly breathless.

"Another one," Max grumbled. She already had one crisis, and failing was not an option. She was not losing Alec.

"This is a big one…" Lucky said slowly.

"Fine. What is it?" Max asked.

Lucky glanced to the door. Logan walked in, and Max nearly glared at Lucky for considering him as a crisis. But then a man walked in that Max had thought to be dead. Colonel Donald Lydecker. Her mouth almost dropped open in shock, but she had enough training to keep her poker face. She felt Alec tense next to her, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Lydecker to glance over at him.

"I thought you were dead," Max said, her voice cold. She had major mixed feelings about the man in front of her, and she knew she couldn't trust him. He had his own agenda, and even though he claimed to care about them, she knew he had no problem killing them.

"Max, you should know by now that you always need proof before you claim someone is dead," Lydecker said. It sounded like he was lecturing her; like she was back at Manticore and he was telling her what she could have done better during the mission.

"We can easily fix that," Alec said with a deadly growl. Max put a hand against his bare chest to hold him back. She looked over at him and she knew with one look that he was a moment away from taking care of their old commander.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Max finally asked to break the tense silence.

"He wants to help," Logan said, trying to ease the situation. "He came to me and said he knew something about White."

"That's great, but we have bigger problems than that right now," Max stated.

"He's coming," Lydecker said. "Now. You don't have time for other problems right now."

"You've got to be kidding," Alec muttered. He ran his hand through his hair and turned around before he looked back at Lydecker, "Why should we believe you? You just conveniently show up right before White's supposedly going to get here and we're just supposed to trust you?"

"You don't have much of a choice," Lydecker replied. "You need to be getting ready for an attack and not standing around arguing with me."

"Like I said, we have bigger problems," Max said. She couldn't help but look over at Alec as she said this. She'd just gotten him back; she wasn't about to lose him again.

"What's the problem?" Lydecker asked, also looking at Alec. She knew he picked up that their problem had something to do with Alec. She had made it kind of obvious.

"None of your business," Alec growled.

"X5's are my business," Lydecker replied.

"Not anymore," Alec said through his teeth.

The entire room was tense, but Max knew they were wasting time. She didn't want to do this, but she couldn't lose Alec. He would be pissed at her, but as long as this worked then he could be as pissed as he wanted. As long as he was alive.

"He has a bomb in his back and we don't know when it will go off," Max said quickly. She could practically feel Alec's glare, but she ignored him for now and kept her focus on Lydecker.

"What kind of bomb?" Lydecker asked. "How were you planning on getting it out?"

"We don't know what kind, but we were going to have Doc take it out," Max replied.

"I can help," Lydecker said.

"Over my dead body," Alec said with a glare. Max almost flinched when he said that; it was what was going to happen if this didn't work.

"I know X5's better than anyone else," Lydecker growled. "I'm your only chance." Lydecker and Alec glared at each other, and then Lydecker ordered, "Turn around soldier."

"No!" Max shouted. "I don't want you here, but since you may actually be his best shot right now, there will be no orders from you. Understood?"

"Fine," Lydecker said. "Turn around…please."

Alec still glared at him, but he did turn around. Alec's shoulders tensed as Lydecker moved closer, and then touched his back. Max snarled when he touched Alec, but Alec just stayed where he was. Lydecker was almost clinical as he examined Alec, but Alec looked like he was barely breathing.

Lydecker ran his hands down Alec's back. Max saw him barely flinch when Lydecker was a little more than halfway down his back and slightly to the left. Lydecker stopped and looked up.

"Right there," Lydecker stated. "That's where they injected the bomb."

"How do you know that's not just one of the bruises from before?" Max asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I just know," Lydecker replied. "Now, do you two want to stop questioning my every move, or do you want this bomb to blow?"

"Fine," Alec snarled. "Get on with it."

Max looked over at Doc, and then nodded. Doc grabbed one of the beds that had wheels and drug it over to them. He made it so it was completely flat instead of slightly propped up, and then took off the covers. He looked over at Alec once he was done and nodded.

Alec gave Max a small smile before he walked over to the bed. She followed him, and then looked around for a chair so she could at least sit by him. Rocky already had a chair ready for her and she gave him a thankful smile as she brought the chair up by Alec's head, but slightly to the left of him.

Alec turned his head so he could see her and rested his cheek against the mattress. He brought his left arm up and she instantly grabbed his hand with hers.

"This is going to work," Alec reassured softly. He squeezed her hand lightly and she squeezed back.

"It better, otherwise I'm gonna have to kick your ass," Max tried to say playfully, but her voice wavered as she said it so he knew she was bluffing. She looked back around at the group surrounding them. Rocky, Bear, Mole, Lucky, Logan, and Chase were all waiting for their next orders.

"Mole, you, Lucky, and Logan go back to Command and watch for an attack," Max said after a moment. "If anything happens, come get me, ok?"

They all three nodded, and then Logan and Lucky walked out of the room. Mole started to walk out, but then stopped and walked back over to her and Alec. He crouched down in front of Alec, and then said, "If you die on us, I will find a way to bring you back just so I'm the one that gets to take you out, understand?"

"Got it," Alec said with a chuckle.

Mole smirked, and then got up. He ruffled Alec's hair and said more seriously, "Hang in there kid." And then he left the room. Max looked at Alec in surprise, but Alec had a small smile on his and wasn't really paying attention.

"Alec, you're going to have to stay as still as possible as we do this, ok?" Doc said, bringing Max and Alec's attention back to what was going on. "One wrong move and this could end very badly."

"We're gonna have to work on your bedside manner," Alec teased.

"You make it through this, and then we can work on it as long as you want," Doc said with a chuckle. "Especially since you aren't going anywhere for a while."

"We'll see about that," Alec replied.

"Enough chit chat," Lydecker grumbled. "You always did talk too much. That's what got you into the most trouble." He looked over at Doc and said, "Get me a scalpel."

Doc looked to Max and she nodded her approval. He got the scalpel and a few other supplies before he handed them over to Lydecker. They did some things to get him ready for surgery and put on gloves and face masks, but Max kept her gaze locked on Alec's green eyes. She didn't want this to be the last time she got to see them.

"Prepare yourself," Lydecker warned.

Alec took in a sharp breath as Lydecker pressed the scalpel to his skin. Blood welled up from the small cut, but Lydecker kept going to make it longer. Doc wiped away the excess blood once he was done with the incision.

"Control your breathing 494," Lydecker ordered.

"Yes Sir," Alec muttered at the same time Max yelled, "His name is Alec!"

"My apologies," Lydecker muttered. "I didn't know you had a name now."

"There's a lot you don't know," Alec replied.

"Do you see the bomb?" Max asked before either of them could say anything else.

"Not yet…" Lydecker said distractedly.

Max moved her gaze back to Alec and asked softly, "How're you doing?"

"I'm alright," Alec replied with a tight smile. He was faking for her sake and she couldn't decide if she was grateful for that right now or if she just wanted him to tell her the truth this once.

It was a few more minutes before Doc said, "There. I think I see it." Lydecker agreed and Max's hope actually started to grow. Alec might actually make it out of this in one piece.

"I think I can get it," Lydecker said quietly.

"Then do it," Alec breathed out. Max could hear the pain in his voice, but the only thing she could do was squeeze his hand. His eyes shot up to hers when she did and she tried to give him a small smile of reassurance.

Lydecker moved to take out the bomb, but Max kept her focus on Alec. He looked steadily back at her; it was amazing how with one look he could reassure her so easily. She'd never really noticed his quiet strength before…

"What's that noise?" Doc suddenly asked, looking up to the ceiling.

It was completely silent in the room as they all stopped and listened. Max could hear something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. She knew she'd heard the sound before, but she just couldn't place it.

"Chopper…" Alec muttered quietly. Now that he said it, Max realized that he was right. It did sound just like a helicopter was heading their way.

They all seemed to stop and hold their breath as the helicopter flew over them. They didn't relax again until after it passed them and the sound disappeared into the distance. Max looked back at Lydecker, and then nodded for him to take out the bomb.

Lydecker moved again, but then everything seemed to happen at once. There was an explosion, but it wasn't their building that exploded, it was another building in TC. But the force of the explosion was enough to knock Bear and Rocky off of their feet. Doc managed to steady himself against the bed and Max gripped Alec's hand as tightly as she could.

It was quiet for a moment, and then Alec mumbled, "That didn't feel good…"

Max thought he meant her practically crushing his hand so she quickly loosened her hold. But then Lydecker breathed out, "Shit." And Max knew Alec meant something else.

"Alec?!" Max asked in concern. He tried for a second to look back at her, but his eyes seemed to go out of focus, and then slowly slipped closed and his hand went completely limp in hers. Max lightly shook his hand to try and get him to wake up again; she needed him to stay with her. "Alec?! Please! You have to wake up," Max begged when shaking his hand did nothing.

"What happened?" Doc asked sharply. Max had never heard that tone from him and it just caused her panic to rise.

"The explosion…" Lydecker answered slowly. "…knocked my hand…"

"We need to stop this bleeding," Doc muttered.

Max watched in horror as it seemed Alec was slipping away right in front of her. Doc and Lydecker were almost scooping Alec's blood onto the floor as they worked frantically to fix what had happened. Max found that she was having trouble breathing as they worked and Alec's eyes remained closed.

Another explosion suddenly shook their entire building, but this time no one seemed to notice. Max felt like her world was already ending and black dot appeared in her vision. She started to sway a little in her seat, until somebody pushed her, effectively snapping her out of it.

She took in a deep breath and the black dots seemed to disappear. She looked up at Rocky who looked back at her in alarm.

"I got it!" Doc exclaimed, bringing Max's and Rocky's attention back to him. Max looked at him and silently begged him to tell her that Alec was going to be ok. "I found the hole and I'm plugging it right now with my finger. I just need to put in a stitch and that should stop the bleeding," Doc tried to reassure.

"Max!" Lucky yelled as he ran into the Infirmary. Max had to force herself to look away from Alec to glance over at Lucky. When she looked at him he said, "We're under attack. We need you in Command! Now!"

Max looked back to Doc and he said, "Go. I'll take care of him from here."

"Alec, you listen to me, you better be alive when I get back here, otherwise I'm going to be very pissed off ok?" Max whispered in Alec's ear. "Please be ok. I love you." She quickly kissed Alec's temple, and then she stood up and glared at Lydecker. "If he's dead when I get back, you're next."

Lydecker just stared back at her. She glared at him for a moment more, and then she looked over at Bear, "Stay with him, please." Bear nodded once, so Max grabbed Rocky's arm and they both ran with Lucky to Command.

* * *

"Bear, I need you to get an oxygen tank from the supply room and get Alec on it now," Doc said once Max was gone. Bear instantly blurred away to do what Doc said. She was terrified for Alec, and she would do whatever she could to keep him alive.

She grabbed one of the oxygen tanks and brought it back over. Doc instructed her on what to do and she quickly did everything he said. She hooked up the oxygen and turned the knob, and then put the oxygen mask over Alec's nose and mouth. The mask fogged up when Alec exhaled and Bear breathed out a sigh of relief.

She took up Max's chair and grabbed Alec's hand with hers as she waited for Doc to give her another set of instructions. She didn't want to just sit there; she needed to be moving. She needed to feel that she was actually doing something to help Alec.

But sitting there and just being there for him might actually be helping him more than she knew. She was there for him; letting him know that he wasn't alone in this.

"Bear, I need you to check his pulse," Doc said. His voice was calmer than it had been, but Bear could detect the underlying panic.

She pressed two fingers against the inside of Alec's wrist and counted the beats of his heart. "Thready at best," Bear said after a moment.

She watched as Doc took in a deep breath and thought for a second. He finally looked over at Freckles and said, "Freckles, I need you to come over here and hand me whatever I ask for, ok?"

Freckles nodded and quickly walked over to them. He stood beside Doc and waited for further instructions. Doc took another deep breath, and then said, "Ok, I need a clamp."

* * *

"Mole! Talk to me!" Max yelled as she ran into Command. She just wanted to go back to Alec, but she was still the leader. She needed to deal with this right now and just trust that Doc would be able to take care of Alec.

"Two of the outer buildings are destroyed, but they're getting closer to ours," Mole replied.

"Is it White?" Max asked.

"Don't know," Mole said. "Doesn't matter. What do you want us to do?"

"Get everyone ready to fight. This is our home and no one is going to take it from us," Max said.

"That's what I like to hear," Mole said with a deadly smile. He turned to radio to the rest of TC and Max looked over to the computers that had the security cameras. She could see the smoke from the destroyed buildings, but so far she didn't see their attackers. All they could do was wait.

"How's he doing?" Mole asked softly once he was finished with his message.

"Not good," Max whispered, staring straight ahead. Rocky put a comforting hand on her shoulder and she reached up and put her hand on top of his. She saw again how much of Alec's blood had been on the floor and on the edges of the bed.

"He'll make it through," Rocky whispered in reassurance.

Max just nodded; if she was going to get herself together, then she couldn't think of what could happen to Alec. She had to just trust in her friends and trust that Alec could fight his way back to her.

* * *

"There," Doc breathed out as he put in the last stitch. He'd managed to stop the bleeding and Alec was miraculously still alive. Most of what had just happened was a blur for him; he didn't know how he knew what to do, but he just did what he had to and it worked.

"How's his pulse?" Doc asked Bear. She was sitting where Max had been and had kept him updated on Alec's pulse as he worked. Doc had thought that they'd almost lost him for a moment, but he'd managed to come back.

"It's a little better than before," Bear replied softly. She brushed Alec's hair off his forehead and looked at him for a moment, and then looked back at Doc. "Are you finished now?"

Doc frowned and slowly shook his head, "We still need to find the bomb again." Bear nodded back, and then turned her focus back to Alec.

Lydecker suddenly moved to help and Doc couldn't help the low growl in the back of his throat. Lydecker had done enough damage already. The only reason their old commander had been allowed to help was because he probably knew how to do this better than they did. But he hadn't really helped at all.

Lydecker put his hands up in surrender and slowly backed away from Alec.

"Go watch the door or something," Bear suggested with a snarl. None of the X5's really liked him. He had ruled over them with an iron fist while they were at Manticore, but now they were free. They didn't have to listen to him anymore.

Lydecker glared at them both, but took off his gloves and stomped over to the door.

Doc and Bear shared a look of relief, and then Doc looked back at Alec. He had to find the bomb again before it was too late. He'd seen it once already, so at least he knew what he was looking for. It was very small, but it was black so he knew it didn't belong.

Doc wanted to look as fast as he could, but he knew that wouldn't help Alec. But if he didn't find the bomb soon, it could go off or there could be another explosion. Or really they could be under attack right now. But Doc's only focus was keeping Alec safe. He was his patient and he wasn't going to let Alec die on him.

"I see it," Doc suddenly said in surprise. He'd just glanced down, and there it was.

"Can you get it?" Bear asked, slightly hopeful.

Freckles handed him some tweezers. He very carefully reached in and pinched the tiny device with the tweezers, and then pulled it out. "Got it," Doc said with relief. He held up the bomb so Bear could see it and she smiled back at him.

"Great job, Doc," Bear praised. "Now close him up before something else can happen."

Doc set the bomb on the tray that was next to Freckles and got the supplies to stitch up Alec's back. He couldn't believe they'd pulled it off. It could have gone a little better, but Alec was still alive and that was the main thing. Now they just had to make it through this attack and everything would be fine.

Doc put in the last stitch, and then looked up at Bear again.

"Pulse is still weak, but it's steadier than before," Bear said without him even asking her.

Doc breathed out a sigh of relief, "I can't believe he made it through that…" He quickly cleaned Alec's blood off of his back and taped some gauze over his stitches. Alec really needed a blood transfusion, but Doc needed to know what was going on with the attack before he started anything else.

Bear let out a nervous chuckle, "You might want to leave that part out when we talk to Max."

A loud POP suddenly sounded, drawing everyone's attention to the tray where the bomb had been. It was smoking now, having just gone off. They all just stared at it with wide eyes, shocked at how close it had been.

Bear leaned closer to Alec and whispered in his ear, "I cannot believe what you put me through. After this, you are on house arrest for a very long time. And there will be no sweet talking your way out of it this time."

* * *

"Nothing's happening…" Max muttered as she watched the security cameras. Nothing had happened for a few minutes now and she felt that she was wasting her time there. She could be with Alec right now instead of standing around and just waiting for something to happen.

"They might be waiting for us to make a move?" Rocky suggested, but he sounded like he didn't believe his own suggestion.

It was quiet for a few minutes and Max was just about to leave Command and go back to Alec.

"Wait…" Mole suddenly said, looking up at the ceiling. Max stayed where she was, and then she could hear something too. "Everybody down!" Mole shouted after a second.

Max was tackled to the ground by Rocky just as their building was hit.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	20. Chapter 20

_Hey guys! So sorry to leave you on that cliffhanger last chapter. My computer crashed, and then work and school happened. But to make it up, this is a pretty long chapter, so I hope you all like it!_

* * *

"You ok?" Rocky asked as the debris around them settled. Command was a mess now thanks to the explosion; Max could see people pushing themselves back up from the floor after being thrown off of their feet and brushing themselves off.

"I'd be better if you would stop tackling me," Max grumbled. "And if these people would stop trying to blow us up, that would be great."

"Hey, I'm just doing my job," Rocky said with a smirk.

Max pushed herself up and brushed off the dust, "Mole! Give me a report!"

"We were hit, in case you hadn't noticed," Mole replied.

Max glared at him, but then remembered that the Infirmary was connected to this building. She looked around for someone she could send to check on Alec, and her eyes finally landed on Lucky. "Lucky!"

"Yeah?" Lucky replied. He was helping Logan push a piece of the ceiling off of another transgenic.

Max ran over to help and they easily freed the transgenic. Max then looked at Lucky and said, "I need you to run to the Infirmary and check on them. Stay there unless someone's really hurt and help out. If they're hurt, come get me. I'd go, but I'm pretty sure we're about to get invaded."

Lucky nodded once, and then took off down the hallway, leaving her and Logan alone. Rocky was still with her, but he was talking to Mole trying to figure out what to do next.

"How's Alec?" Logan asked quietly after a moment.

"He wasn't doing good when I left," Max replied.

"He's pretty tough…I'm sure he'll make it through," Logan tried to reassure. It was a little awkward talking about Alec with Logan, but Max thought it was nice that he was trying. "Besides, he's got someone he's fighting for."

"Logan," Max started slowly, but then Logan cut her off.

"I sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I just miss you," Logan said.

"Logan…I love him," Max said. Logan gave her a sad smile and nodded in understanding.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but Mole suddenly called out, "Max, I need to talk to you!"

Max looked back to Logan and he nodded that she should go. She gave him a small smile, and then ran over to Mole and Rocky. "What's going on?"

"I have Scout on the roof. She says that teams of armed men are repelling out of the helicopters and onto the ground," Mole said.

"Is everyone ready?" Max asked. "Did you tell them to shoot on sight?"

"Yes," Mole replied. "But there's more. Scout says that there are military trucks rolling up to the gate too."

"You've got to be joking," Max said in exasperation. "Is it another attack or is it just reinforcements for this one?"

"She can't tell," Mole said.

"We need to get into position," Max said. She was not going to let these people take her home. "How many from the choppers?"

"About 20 is what Scout said. There are 4 trucks so if we're lucky there are only 10 in each truck, which means there are maybe 60 soldiers headed our way. We have over 200 transgenics, so we do outnumber them."

"We have a lot of kids though…" Max muttered. "And they have more artillery."

"Kids who were trained for this kind of thing," Mole replied. Max didn't like that; she didn't want to put kids through this. "You might not like it, but they know how to defend themselves."

Max thought for a few more seconds, but she really didn't have much time to change things. "Fine. We have to do whatever it takes to win this fight." She started to move and grabbed a rifle that they had in the room. Rocky followed her and grabbed a couple guns and followed her down the hallway along with Mole.

"What's the plan Boss?" Rocky asked as they started jogging toward the entrance.

"We're not going to hide in here and wait for them. We're taking the fight to them," Max stated with determination.

* * *

Bear had moved as fast as she could when she'd heard the helicopter almost directly overhead. She had used her own body to protect Alec's head and Doc and Freckles had done the same over his back. Debris had fallen on and around them, but they were lucky. They hadn't been hit that badly. Bear figured that Command had been the target and she just had to hope that everyone was ok.

"Everyone good?" Doc asked as he slowly straightened. He didn't wait for their answer before he started checking Alec over. Bear really wished that Alec would wake up, then he could tell them if he was ok or not.

"Yeah," Bear finally replied. She checked to make sure that the oxygen mask still fogged up with Alec's breathing, and breathed a sigh of relief when it did.

"When do you think he'll wake up?" Bear asked after a moment.

"I don't really know…" Doc said slowly. "He lost a lot of blood…"

"We should set up a transfusion," Bear said. She lightly brushed Alec's hair back, and then rested her hand against his shoulder.

"We don't have time for anything else. We're under attack right now," Lydecker suddenly cut in.

"We didn't ask you," Doc threw out.

"You've forgotten your training," Lydecker muttered. "You need to be gearing up and either fortifying your position or scouting out your enemy."

"Our only objective right now is to keep Alec safe," Doc replied with a snarl. "If you don't like that, then I suggest you leave."

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," Bear added on with a nasty smirk.

"You're focusing on one soldier instead of-" Lydecker didn't get to finish because Bear blurred over and slammed him against the wall. A satisfying huff of air left him at the impact and he slid down the wall until he sat on the floor.

"It's good to see you guys are ok," Lucky suddenly said as he ran into the room. He spared a short glance to Lydecker before he start to walk towards Alec. "How's he doing?"

"Well, we got the bomb out," Doc replied.

"Looks like he lost a lot of blood though…" Lucky muttered, looking at the floor.

Doc nodded, "We were trying to figure out if we should try and fix that now or if the attack is here…"

"It's here," Lucky said. "He's just going to have to hold on while we deal with this."

"Are you going back to Max now?" Doc asked quietly.

Lucky shook his head no, "I'm staying here to help out. Just in case they get this far."

* * *

Max fired and one of the soldiers dropped to the ground. Rocky and Mole were firing beside her and many other transgenics had followed them. There were transgenics on the rooftops firing on the soldiers as well, and Max had a small hope that they could actually win this.

She ducked behind some rubble as a series of shots spayed above her. The soldiers weren't great shots, but they had more ammo than the transgenics did; they didn't have to make every shot count. Their strategy was shoot as much as possible and hope to hit one.

Bodies littered the street already. She couldn't tell from here if she personally knew any of them, but either way, these were her people and their deaths would weigh heavily on her. She was their leader; she was supposed to protect them.

"Max!" Mole suddenly yelled above the gunfire. "We've got another problem!"

"You're joking, right?" Max yelled back. She lined up a shot and easily took down another soldier. She didn't like guns, but that didn't mean she couldn't use them.

"Scout says there's a tank headed our way."

Max looked over at Mole in disbelief. She should have known this was too easy. "You can't be serious?!"

"Unfortunately I am," Mole replied. He shot a soldier and actually smirked when they fell to the ground; he was enjoying this a little too much.

"Too bad we don't have more ammunition," Rocky muttered. Max shot him a look that clearly said he wasn't helping. He just smirked back at her.

"Ideas on the tank?" Max asked after a moment.

"Take it out," Rocky and Mole said at the same time. They looked at each other in surprise and gave each other a high five while Max glared at them both.

"I wish Alec was here…" Max said under her breath. "At least then I'd have to listen to his stupid ideas instead of your unhelpful ones."

"I thought it was helpful," Rocky said with a laugh.

"Me too," Mole threw in.

Max ignored them and tried to focus on what to do. A loud BOOM sounded, and then something hit one of the buildings. The wall blew out of the building and debris went everywhere. She really needed to think of something, and she needed to do it fast before that tank took out the rest of TC.

"This is what I need," Max finally said. "I need Spark and Carter to meet me at the building closest to the tank. You two stay here and keep them out of Command. Understood?"

"I'm going with you, Boss," Rocky stated seriously.

Max wanted to protest, but she couldn't ignore that she wanted her bodyguard with her. He was more than just a bodyguard to her now, though. He was her friend; one of her best friends in TC, and she didn't want to lose him. She was pretty sure this was going to be a suicide mission, but she had to take out that tank. She didn't want to bring Rocky down with her.

"Don't even try arguing with me," Rocky said when she didn't answer. "I'm going with you, like it or not."

"Fine," Max finally relented. "Mole you stay here. Get whoever you need to keep them out of Command." Mole nodded that he understood, and then got on the radio to get Spark, Carter, and any reinforcements that he needed.

"Ready?" Max asked as they navigated their way closer to the tank.

"I'm always ready," Rocky said with a smile. Max tried to smile back, but found that she couldn't. She tried to shake off the bad feeling as they ran closer to danger.

* * *

"Put this one against the door too," Bear said to Lucky and Doc, pointing to one of the last beds in the room. They were fortifying the room for the coming attack. There was only one door to the Infirmary, but there were small windows along the walls. She was helping Freckles cover the windows while Lucky and Doc covered the door.

Alec was still out. She hadn't really expected him to wake up, but she had hoped. She had grown accustomed to his cockiness; he made her feel like they could get through anything. That this war was just exciting and she should stop worrying so much. Each new thing that the enemy threw at them was just a new challenge for him to get over.

But he was still out. He was fighting his own fight now, and she would just have to worry. She didn't know what was going on outside, but she knew they would get in sooner or later. The only thing she could do now was protect Alec until that was no longer possible.

Bear finished with the last window, and then went back over to Alec. He was so still lying on the bed; it was so unlike him, and she hated it. Alec was constant motion. Even when he was sleeping, he was usually tossing and turning. Seeing him this still made her think he was dead. It didn't help that he was paler than a ghost.

But his breathing was slow and steady. He still had the oxygen mask on, and Bear was comforted every time the mask fogged up with his breathing.

An explosion suddenly shook the ground and Bear looked over at Doc.

"Think that was another bomb?" Doc asked quietly.

Bear shook her head, "Sounded different this time…"

"It was a tank," Freckles said after a moment. "The General's the one attacking…"

"I thought White was attacking?" Lucky said, looking around the room.

"Maybe it's both…" Doc muttered.

"Do you think they plan this kind of thing?" Lucky asked. He was clearly done with this whole situation. "I mean, is there a bad guy convention so they can plan their attacks together? Or did they both just happen to decide that today would be the perfect day to kill some transgenics?!"

Doc went over and put a comforting hand on Lucky's shoulder. Bear looked back down at Alec to make sure he was still ok and was surprised to see that he was starting to come back around.

"Alec?" Bear asked quietly. She saw everyone's head pop up in surprise, but she ignored them and focused on Alec.

His eyelids seemed to flutter for a second and he moved his fingers on the hand that was resting on the bed. Bear held her breath as it seemed Alec was actually starting to wake up. His eyes finally opened a crack, but it seemed like it took him a minute to focus on her.

"Alec, honey, can you hear me?" Bear asked softly.

Alec started to move his left hand towards his face, but then seemed to run out of energy and stopped. Bear knew what he wanted though, and carefully took the oxygen mask off of his face for a minute.

"Max?" Alec barely breathed out.

"The fight's here, honey. She had to go take care of some things, but she'll be back," Bear tried to reassure. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and then asked, "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"

"Tired…"

"I know, but this will be over soon." Alec barely nodded back to her and his eyes started to slip closed again. "How about we put this back on? Help you breathe a little easier…" Bear suggested. She didn't wait to see if he would reply or not before she put the oxygen mask back on him.

Another explosion shook the entire room; almost causing Bear to lose her balance. She stayed standing though, and then looked over to Doc. She motioned for him to come help her, and he didn't waste any time coming over to her and Alec.

"Let's put his mattress on the floor, and then move some beds to their sides so we have some cover if they break through," Bear said. Doc nodded his agreement, and they went to the ends of Alec's mattress to pick it up and put it on the floor. She had Lucky and Freckles move the remaining beds so they provided at least a little bit of cover as Doc started to check Alec over again.

"He woke up, so that's a very good sign," Doc said, almost to himself. "Now we just need to get through this before anything else happens…"

Bear put her hand over Doc's to stop his motion. He looked over at her in surprise and she said, "It's going to be ok. Everything's going to work out. We just have to believe that."

* * *

"You guys ready?" Max asked, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible. Carter and Spark had met up with her and Rocky a few buildings away from where the tank was headed. She knew Spark had been on Alec's team and that he'd picked her because she knew how to blow up just about anything. She picked Carter because he was in charge of one of the supply teams, and he would be fast enough and sneaky enough to get the bomb to the tank.

Everyone nodded that they were ready, but Max couldn't help saying again, "You guys don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"We're with you all the way Max," Carter stated. Spark instantly nodded her agreement.

Max took a deep breath, and then let it out, "Ok. Spark, is the bomb ready?"

Spark nodded again, "Yes ma'am. All we have to do is get to the tank, push a button, and throw it down the gun. It should go off about 3 seconds after you push the button and blow the thing up from the inside out."

"Sounds easy enough…" Max muttered. "Carter, you sure about this?"

"Yes ma'am," Carter replied. They were calling her ma'am again, and any other time she would have corrected them, but right now she was trying not to freak out.

"Ok, get over there, push the button, and run like hell," Max said even though Carter said he knew what to do.

"And don't die," Rocky added on seriously.

"We'll cover you the whole way," Max tried to reassure.

"Guys," Carter said with a small smirk, "Relax, we got this."

Max tried to nod that she agreed, but she was just praying that this would work. The tank had already taken out another two buildings. Those, along with the buildings destroyed by the bombs, meant that TC was going to need some serious repairs. That is, if anyone made it out of this alive.

Spark gave Carter the bomb, and then he moved into position. Max and Rocky got ready to cover for him, but when she looked, she saw the tank was pointing right at them.

"Get down!" Max yelled.

Rocky tackled her again just as the tank fired. She couldn't see or hear anything for a few minutes after it fired. She was barely holding on to consciousness, but she knew one thing for sure, she was still alive. Her chest hurt and after a few minutes, her ears started ringing. It took her a little while longer after that to be aware enough to try to move.

Rocky was still on top of her, but he wasn't moving.

"Rocky!?" Max frantically asked, but she started coughing from the dust a moment later. Max pushed on Rocky's shoulder and tried desperately to wake him up. "ROCKY!?" She couldn't lose him; he was Rocky and he went where she went. He was her best friend and he couldn't die on her.

Tears started streaming down her face. She hadn't even wanted him as her bodyguard; he had annoyed her to no end when he'd first started following her around. Now she couldn't imagine walking around TC without him. He wouldn't be there to joke around with her and try his hardest to get under her skin. He wouldn't be there to play matchmaker when she had a fight with Alec. And she wouldn't get a chance to play matchmaker for him and Bear. He couldn't do this to her! She needed him!

"Rocky…" Max said between sobs. She fisted her hands in his shirt, but then hit him hard on the chest. He gave out a choked cough and Max's eyes widened in surprise. "Rocky?!"

Rocky let out another cough, and then breathed out, "I'm alright…"

Max threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. She was still crying, but she was just so happy that he was still alive. Rocky tried to reassure her, but she'd been so scared that he was gone.

"Max," Rocky finally said once she'd calmed down a little. "You need to check on the other two, and then see if the bomb is still ok…"

"You're coming too," Max replied.

Rocky slowly shook his head no, "Not this time, Boss. My leg's all busted; I'd just slow you down."

"I can't leave you here," Max said with a frown.

"Yes, you can and you will," Rocky stated. "You need to finish this."

"Rocky-"

"No, you finish this, and then send someone back for me, ok?" Rock said. Max still shook her head no. "Look, this is the safest place right now. They think we're dead and I can hide in the rubble. If anyone comes by, I'll have a gun just in case they don't believe I'm actually dead."

Max still didn't like it, but the BOOM from the tank told her that she didn't have a choice. "You better still be alive when I get back."

"Yes ma'am," Rocky said with a smirk.

"Don't call me ma'am," Max replied, giving him a small smile in return.

"Yes sir?" Rocky said slowly, repeating what he'd said to her in another time. One of the first days he'd been assigned as her bodyguard.

Max's eyes filled with tears again and she could barely get out, "Call me Max."

"Sure thing Boss," Rocky said quietly. "Now go. Can't be wasting any more time on me. You've got things to do."

Max nodded and quickly kissed his forehead. He rolled off of her with a grimace, and she moved over the rubble. She got him a gun and made sure he couldn't be seen before she started looking for Carter and Spark.

She had to dig around for a while, but then she heard a faint, "Max!" She moved to the sound and had to dig some more before she finally found Carter and Spark. Carter had tackled Spark to the ground and given her cover much like Rocky had done for her. But Carter hadn't been as lucky as Rocky had been.

Max covered her mouth and tears started to fall again as she carefully moved him. His eyes were closed and he looked almost peaceful in her arms; almost like he was just sleeping and would wake up at any minute. Spark crawled over next to her, tears falling from her own eyes.

"He saved me…" Spark said after a moment.

"I know sweetie," Max said. She put her arm around Spark's shoulders and gave the younger girl a hug to try to comfort her. "I know."

She waited a few minutes before she carefully set Carter back down, and then led Spark over to Rocky. She shook her head no to Rocky as they walked over and made Spark sit down next to him.

"Spark, I know you've been through a lot already, but what happened to the bomb?" Max asked, crouching down in front of Spark.

Spark held up the little bomb and said quietly, "It was next to me when I came back around. I kept thinking it was just about to go off, but the button must not have been pressed…"

Max reached out and gently took the bomb from the girl, "I'll take it, you just stay here with Rocky, ok?"

Spark nodded. Max shot one more look to Rocky before she went looking for the tank again.

* * *

Bear was ready. She was sitting on the bed next to Alec, but she was ready for whatever came through that door. She had her gun out and so did Lucky and Doc. She didn't know Doc had a gun, but she shouldn't have been surprised. Alec would have made sure he was ready just in case something happened.

Freckles and Lydecker didn't have guns, but she felt better that way. She didn't trust Lydecker at all and Freckles was still Alec's guard. She knew Alec trusted him, but she couldn't quite give him that same trust. He had helped Alec, and she would never be able to repay him for that, but she still didn't trust him.

Lucky's head suddenly perked up. He was by the door trying to listen for what was going on and he must have heard something. He signaled to Bear that he heard footsteps coming down the hall. He couldn't tell how many.

Bear lightly shook Alec's shoulder and luckily, his eyes opened a little after just a moment. Bear took off the oxygen mask completely, and then whispered, "If they get in here, play dead, ok?" Alec looked like he wanted to argue for a second, but then he eventually nodded. Bear patted his shoulder, and then put a blanket over him. She covered his head too, just in case they needed to make it look like he was dead.

The footsteps drew closer and Lucky pressed himself against the wall so he couldn't be seen. Freckles got on the other side of the door so he could fight off anyone that came in. She and Doc were behind the cover of the mattresses so they could shoot the first ones and protect Alec. Lydecker was behind another mattress, and Bear really didn't know what he was going to do.

Lucky's eyes suddenly widened and he quickly motioned for them all to take cover. He moved to find his own cover, and then a moment later the door blew open with an explosion. Bear ducked down with Doc, closer to Alec, as men ran into the room.

They stayed under cover until Bear heard Lucky fire. Bear popped up and fired at the first soldier she saw. Doc fired beside her and Lucky was shooting from across the room. She saw Freckles take down a soldier and take his gun to help them out. More men were in the hallway, taking their shots from behind cover. More would be on the way.

Bear knew she was running low on ammo. She needed to get out of her cover and get one of the soldier's guns if she wanted to stay in this fight. She leaned over to Alec and whispered, "Stay here." Then she jumped over the cover of the mattress and ran to the closest soldier.

She easily took him down and grabbed his weapon as he fell. She turned the weapon to another soldier and took him out too. She was just starting to think that they could make it out of this when Lucky got hit. He took two bullets, one in his shoulder and the other in his side. He was still alive, but he was immediately taken hostage as soon as he went down.

"Drop your guns or your friend's dead," one of the soldiers said evenly. He was holding Lucky up and had his gun pressed to Lucky's head and he was using Lucky as a human shield. Bear had stopped fighting as soon as Lucky had gone down, and now her only choice was to drop her weapon.

She dropped her gun after just a moment's hesitation and Doc and Freckles followed her lead. She was surprised to see that Lydecker had managed to get a gun too, but he dropped it after everyone else had dropped theirs.

"We're clear!" The soldier holding Lucky called out when they were unarmed.

Bear looked to the door as slow footsteps headed their way. The General walked in and surveyed the room. He looked pleased by their surrender and he just stepped over the bodies of his fallen soldiers.

"Well look what we have here," The General said slowly. "A few familiar faces…"

Bear watched him closely as he walked further into the room. More soldiers followed him in and waited for his orders. The General looked around at their fortifications and Bear couldn't tell if he was impressed or disgusted with what they'd done.

"I want two guards for each," The General said. He was getting closer to where Alec was; she kept her eyes forward though so she didn't give him away. "Try not to damage them. My buyers want them as whole as possible…We've already killed a small fortune…"

Bear wanted to resist the two soldiers that grabbed her arms, but she let them grab her. If they could get out of here before the General saw Alec, she would be fine with that. They could make their escape after Alec was in the clear.

But, as Bear was quickly finding out, Alec had the worst luck in the world. The General walked around their mattress fort and looked down where Bear had left Alec. He bent down and moved the blanket that was over Alec, and then smirked. Bear prayed that the man actually thought Alec was dead.

"Not so cocky now," the General muttered. He stood up, but he kept his eyes on Alec. Bear held her breath as he just stood there for a moment. Bear's eyes widened when the General pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Alec's head.

Freckles moved before she could. He knocked a gun out of one of the soldier's hands and pointed it at the General. The General shifted his aim from Alec and turned and shot Freckles all in one motion. The room was silent for just a second before the fighting broke out again. Lucky elbowed his guard in the gut and grabbed his weapon. Lucky fell to the ground though after a second, but he kept his gun up to protect himself.

At the same time, Bear managed to break one arm free of her captors and chopped the man in the throat. He dropped and held his hand to his throat. The other guard moved to take her down. She grabbed his gun, and without looking, tossed it toward Alec. She didn't see if he caught it or not, or if he was even awake right now, she had to focus on taking out her other guard.

She punched him in the side and heard ribs break beneath the blow. She didn't want to be a killer, but she didn't have a choice. It was kill or be killed. The man reached for another weapon, and Bear had no choice but to snap his neck before he could do anything. The man was just following orders, and it hurt her to fall back on her training and take him out.

She was pulled from her thoughts suddenly when two guns went off at the same time. She snapped her focus over to the General and looked over just in time to see him crumble to the ground, a bullet to his head. She moved her gaze over to Alec and saw that he was sitting on his knees, the gun she had thrown him steady in his hands. He was looking over at the General, determination written all over his face.

Bear ran over to Alec and landed on her knees next to him. She quickly started checking him over, afraid that the General had hit him before he'd gotten the shot off. "Are you ok?" Bear asked frantically. Alec seemed to waver for a moment, and then he finally met her gaze.

"Yeah…I'm ok…" Alec mumbled. She didn't find any new injuries so she pulled him in for a hug. He practically collapsed against her and she easily held him up. She looked around to see if they were in any danger, but Doc and Lydecker had managed to take down the remaining soldiers. The others had run as soon as the General had fallen and there had only been a few soldiers left.

"What about the others?" Alec whispered. He didn't make any move to sit up on his own, but Bear didn't mind at all. She wanted to help him however she could.

She looked over to Doc who was helping Lucky. He looked back at her and said, "He needs some work…but I think he'll be ok."

She turned her gaze over to where Freckles had fallen. Lydecker was crouched next to him, but she couldn't tell if Freckles was ok or not.

"Doc thinks Lucky will be ok, but I don't know about Freckles," Bear whispered back to him.

"Can you help me over there…" Alec asked after a few seconds.

Bear reluctantly nodded; she didn't want him to move, but she couldn't ignore his request. She helped him to his feet and they slowly walked over to Freckles and Lydecker. She knew with one looked that Freckles wasn't going to make it. He'd been shot in the chest; he was still alive for the moment, but he was barely hanging on. She helped Alec back to the floor and Alec grabbed Freckles' hand.

"Hey man," Alec breathed out with a watery smile. There were tears in his eyes as he looked down at his friend; he knew Freckles wasn't going to make it.

"Hey kid…" Freckles replied weakly. "S good ta see you made it through…'s good…"

"You're gonna make it too, Freckles," Alec tried to reassure.

"Not this time, kid…" Freckles said with a small smile. "M not as tough as you are…"

"Nah," Alec waved off. A tear fell down his cheek though, clearly revealing his friend's fate. "You just gotta hold on."

"You're way…too…optimistic," Freckles said, gasping for air between words. "Hold on…to your…girl. She's…a keeper."

Alec tried to smile, "I'm not letting her go."

"And don't…get caught up…with any more…generals," Freckles said with a smirk. He let out a choked cough and Alec's grip on his hand tightened.

Another tear fell to Alec's cheek and he let out a sad chuckle, "I'll try not to."

"Cause I won't…be around…ta save your ass," Freckles said. He let out a weak laugh, and then his eyes slipped closed and he breathed out his last breath.

Alec shook his friend's shoulder and said with a broken voice, "Freckles?" He shook his shoulder one more time, and then dropped his head down in defeat. Tears fell silently down his cheeks and his shoulders shook with silent sobs. Bear put a comforting hand on Alec's shoulder and waited him out.

* * *

Max took a deep breath as she waited for her moment to strike. She was hiding next to the tank, and now she just needed to move. She held her gun with one hand and the bomb in the other. She needed to move fast to take this thing out.

She took one more breath, and then sprinted out from behind her hiding place. Gunfire immediately headed her way, but she moved fast enough that they didn't hit her. Well, for the most part. One bullet grazed her arm, but she kept going.

She took out two soldiers as she ran. She made it all the way to the tank, and then pushed the button on the bomb. She jumped up and threw the bomb down the barrel of the gun before she took off running.

"Get down!" Max yelled to any transgenics that could be around. She jumped over a pile of rubble, and then covered her head.

The explosion was a lot less dramatic than she had been expecting. Almost to the point that she didn't think the bomb had gone off at all. But when she poked her head out of cover, she saw the end of the gun had been blasted off and smoke was rising out of multiple holes in the tank.

Max breathed out a sigh of relief seeing that one threat was gone. She looked for the soldiers, but saw that most of them were retreating. The transgenics on the rooftops were firing warning shots at the ones not running, and they turned after just a moment's hesitation.

A chopper flew overhead and Max looked up. She could see Ames White looking down at them from an open door. He didn't look happy to see the retreating soldiers, but he didn't do anything. His helicopter just circled TC once, and then flew off again. She knew he would be back, but they would be ready for him.

They had won this fight. They had fought for their home and had won. But she didn't know how high their price of freedom had been. She didn't know how many lives had been lost. How many friends that had died in this fight. She didn't know if she'd lost Alec in this fight or not. They'd won their freedom, but it had cost them.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	21. Chapter 21

Max stood frozen in the middle of TC. There were about a million things she needed to do, but she didn't know where to start. There were hurt transgenics and dead transgenics, she needed to find Rocky again and help him, and more than anything, she wanted to find Alec.

But she was just standing there. She had so much to do, and instead she wasn't doing anything. She didn't think her legs would move even if she tried. She wanted to start moving, but she was afraid of who she would find as she walked.

Bodies littered the street and she didn't want to know who they had lost. As long as she stayed in one spot, she wouldn't have to know. But staying in one spot meant that she wouldn't get to Alec. But he could be dead too, and she couldn't live with that. He had to be ok.

A tear fell to her cheek without her realizing it. She wanted to know and she didn't want to know if she'd lost Alec.

"Max!" Mole suddenly said, walking up to her. He was bleeding, but he was in one piece and she was so relieved to see him. He surprised her though when he pulled her in for a tight hug. The lizard actually did care. She instantly hugged him back. She didn't know what she would have done without him either. He did more for TC than she even realized.

"Where's Rocky?" Mole asked after a moment, pulling back from their hug.

"He got hurt. I had to leave him in one of the buildings with Spark," Max replied. She was surprised by how thick her voice sounded.

"What about Carter?" Mole asked softly.

Max shook her head and whispered, "He didn't make it." Mole pulled her in for another hug as the tears started to fall again.

Mole soothed her as much as he could. He let her get it all out, and then when she calmed down he said, "C'mon, let's go get Rocky and bring him inside. Then you can go check on Alec, and then we can go from there, ok?"

Max nodded, grateful that Mole had given her a direction. Together they walked through the battleground of their home. Some of the transgenics she knew, Jen and Reggie were among them. Some she didn't, but she felt their loss just the same. Some were kids, and she couldn't even bare to see them.

It took them a while to get back to Rocky, but Max was relieved to see him once they got there. He gave her a small smile once she got to him. They didn't say anything as she helped him up. Mole said he would catch up with them as they started their slow walk back to Command. Spark stayed with Mole to help him move Carter's body.

The closer they got to Command, the more Max had to force herself to keep going. The closer they got, the closer she would be to finding out if Alec was gone. Rocky squeezed her shoulders, seeming to know what was causing her to walk slower.

They walked through the ruined halls of Command, slowly getting closer to the Infirmary. Closer to Alec.

Max took a deep breath before the door to the Infirmary. She didn't know what she would do if Alec was gone, but she couldn't spend all day in the hallway. Now that she was here, she had to know what had happened to him.

"Sit. Stay. That's an order," Max heard Bear say from the hallway.

Then the most beautiful voice she had ever heard grumbled, "I'm not a dog."

Alec was alive! Max nearly let go of Rocky at the joy that shot through her. Alec was alive!

"Bear!" Rocky called out after he heard Alec's reply.

They heard footsteps, and then Bear said, "What did I just tell you?" Before she appeared in the doorway. She ran forward once she saw them and threw her arms around Rocky. She moved to support him after a moment and nodded for Max to go ahead.

That was all she needed to hear for her to run through the doorway. Alec was stubbornly pushing himself up when she came in, but he stopped and looked up when he heard her footsteps.

"Max," Alec breathed out in relief. He pushed himself up the rest of the way, but he didn't move closer to her.

He had a couple of tubes in his arm that ran to two bags on a pole. One had blood in it and the other had fluids.

She ran forward though and couldn't help but slam into him. She threw her arms around his neck and his arms wrapped around her waist, crushing herself to him. She buried her face against his neck, breathing him in. She felt his hand move to her hair, and if possible, he held her closer.

Even though he had practically been at death's door earlier, she felt so much better in his strong arms. She just wanted to stay like this forever. He was alive.

"Max," Alec whispered after a few minutes, "I love you and I would like nothing more than to stay like this forever, but I gotta sit down."

"Oh Alec, I'm sorry," Max said quickly. She helped him sit back down. She couldn't believe how pale he was. His freckles over his nose were standing out, and Max felt the urge to kiss every single one of them. She settled for just kissing his cheek, and then lightly pressed her lips to his.

He grabbed her hand when she started to pull away and brought her a little closer. "I know you probably have a lot to do right now…but you wanna sit down for a second?" Alec asked quietly.

Max nodded, and then quickly went to find another chair. She sat as close to him as she could get and grabbed his hand. She absentmindedly traced the lines on his palm as she sat by him.

"Freckles…I mean Chase…is dead," Alec said softly with his eyes down.

Max looked over at Alec and squeezed his hand. "Carter is gone too…" Max said reluctantly.

Alec hung his head and nodded. Two of his friends had died in this fight and Max didn't know how many more.

"On the plus side, the General's dead," Alec said, trying to force some levity into his voice.

Max looked over at Alec, and then lightly put her hand against his cheek and turned his face towards her. He leaned into her touch and looked back at her with sad eyes.

They jumped apart though when Rocky said, "It's good to see you made it through." Bear was helping him walk and she eased him down to sit on a mattress on the floor. "Not to say that I ever doubted you, but you really had us worried."

"What happened to you?" Alec asked instead of acknowledging Rocky's concern for him.

"A tank happened," Rocky replied.

"A tank!?" Alec shot a look between Max and Rocky.

It was quiet for a moment until Max finally said, "It's taken care of." Alec seemed to sense that she didn't want to talk about it, and he let it go. She figured he would bring it up again later when they were alone, and that would be alright with her. She just couldn't talk about it yet. It was too soon.

Max looked around the room; people were setting up the beds again and bringing in the wounded. Doc was moving from bed to bed, checking on each of them and helping the most critical first.

Alec suddenly moved next to her, bringing her attention back to him. He dropped his head into one of his hands and stayed like that. He looked exhausted and Max rubbed his shoulder to try and comfort him.

"You should be lying down," Max whispered to him.

"I'm alright," Alec muttered back, but he didn't move to try to convince her. "Besides, others are in worse shape than I am…"

"No," Doc suddenly said behind them. "Max is right. You need to be lying down."

"And we already have a bed set up for you," Bear announced to them.

Alec turned his head to glare back at her, but he slowly started to move after a moment. Max immediately helped support him, and she went with him all the way to one of the beds.

"I could just go back to the apartment to sleep," Alec said, his words slightly slurred.

"Alec, I don't even know if the apartment is still standing," Max replied. "Besides, I want you where people can keep an eye on you so you can't get into any more trouble."

Alec was already starting to drift off. Max kissed his cheek and ran her fingers through his hair. She waited until she was sure he was asleep before she moved away from him. She wanted to stay with him, but she needed to start taking care of those they had lost.

* * *

Max carefully picked up one of her fallen people. He was just a kid, maybe 12 years old, but he was gone. Max felt the loss of each one, but she was too drained now to cry. After she'd left Alec, she'd gone out to help move the bodies. They needed to set up a burial, but first they needed to move them to one spot.

"Max," Mole suddenly called out. Max kept walking though, and Mole ran to catch up. "Max, you should take a break. You've been at this for a few hours now."

"I'm fine," Max replied. She gently set the kid she was carrying next to another transgenic. There was a line of them in the street; 27 were already there, and she knew more would be in the buildings. "I need to do this."

"Max, this wasn't your fault," Mole said. "You can't blame yourself for this."

"I should have listened to you. They would still be alive if we hadn't all stayed together," Max said quietly.

"No, they probably wouldn't be. They would've been hunted down one by one. And they would've never known what it was like to belong somewhere, to have a family. You gave them that, and they died protecting that," Mole argued. "And yes, it's sad that they're gone, but we will mourn them and continue with our lives. This isn't your fault, and you need to get it through your thick skull before I have to drag Pretty Boy out here to talk some sense into you."

Max looked up in alarm when he said that. She didn't want to drag Alec into this, he needed his rest and she didn't want him to see this. "We still need to set up a burial ground so we can start digging. And we haven't even searched the buildings yet to clear those-"

"Max."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up. Take a break," Mole said. "I can put a team on clearing buildings and I already have a spot cleared for the graves."

"I'm not taking a break," Max replied after a moment. Mole started to protest, but she stopped him, "If I take a break…I don't know when I'll get moving again."

Mole still looked like he wanted to argue, but he finally nodded, "Ok, follow me. You can approve the grave site and we can start planning out a ceremony."

Max thought about it, and then agreed and followed Mole.

* * *

Alec felt extremely groggy. He'd had an adrenaline rush when he'd shot the General, and then again when Max came in. But then his energy had drained, and all of his pain had crashed into him at once. He couldn't tell how long he'd been asleep, but he was on a bed now and he couldn't really remember moving from the chair to the bed.

Someone grabbed his wrist, and Alec instinctually tried to pull away. But the hand around his wrist tightened, and then a low voice reassured, "Easy Alec, it's just Doc." Alec relaxed a little as Doc checked his pulse.

"-Could only give you one bag of blood, so you won't be back to normal for a while, but I think you're going to make it through." Doc was talking to him, but he only caught part of what he said. "As long as there are no more bombs or surprise attacks on TC anyway…" Doc suddenly shined a light in one of his eyes and he flinched away.

Alec pushed Doc's hand away and tried to brace himself up on his put his hand on his chest and barely pushed down. Alec collapsed back to the bed under the light pressure, but glared up at Doc.

"Don't give me that look," Doc said with a scowl. "After what you put me through, I should handcuff you to this bed. But luckily for you, I don't have any handcuffs with me at the moment."

"I could get out of them anyway…" Alec muttered.

Doc didn't look amused. "I have things I need to do, other patients to see-"

"Don't let me stop you," Alec said with a smirk.

Doc's eyes narrowed, "You stay in this bed, or else I'm gonna knock you out." Alec looked at Doc like he didn't believe him. "I mean it, Alec. I've spent too much time patching you up. Stay in the bed, or else."

Alec rolled his eyes, but he stayed lying on the bed. Doc gave him one more look, and then moved over to the bed next to his. Alec was surprised to see that Lucky was in the bed next to him. He remembered that Lucky had been hurt in the fight, but he didn't remember Lucky being next to him.

"Looks like you won't need surgery after all," Doc told Lucky. "Both bullets went right through and the one in your side missed all of your major organs. You should heal up nicely in a few days as long as you rest. Blood would help you heal faster, but we're in short supply at the moment…"

"Thanks Doc," Lucky replied quietly. Doc patted Lucky's uninjured shoulder before he moved on to the next bed.

"You are one lucky son of a bitch," Alec said to Lucky once Doc was gone.

"How do you think I got my name?" Lucky replied with a small smirk.

"You're just lucky that your name wasn't ironic this time," Alec said.

Lucky chuckled, "Yeah, you have a point there."

Alec shifted a little, but then winced at the movement. "Do you think Doc was kidding when he said he'd knock me out?"

"No," Lucky replied slowly, "I think he was being serious."

Alec tried to get comfortable again since he was going to be stuck there for a while, but he couldn't. "Maybe I'll get up just to see if he'll do it."

"Or do you want to get up because you're in too much pain to sleep and if he knocks you out then you won't have to worry about it?" Lucky asked.

Alec glared at Lucky, but then asked, "Where did Bear and Rocky go?"

Lucky pointed across the room, and Alec looked to where he was pointing. A slow smile spread across his face when he saw them. They were both in one bed, fast asleep, holding each other.

"Well that's adorable," Alec muttered. He looked over at Lucky and said, "I'd like to think I had something to do with that. They're together because I put them in the same apartment."

"Congratulation," Lucky replied dryly, but he was trying to hide his smile.

Alec lay back on his pillow with a wide smile. He still wasn't comfortable, but he did feel a little better.

* * *

Max paced in the Infirmary. It had been a few days since the attack, and they had buried all of their dead, but they hadn't done the ceremony yet. She was going to give a speech at the ceremony, which was why she was pacing.

"I could give the speech," Alec offered again, interrupting her pacing. Max would love to have Alec give the speech, but this was something she felt like she needed to do.

"No," Max grumbled.

Alec was sitting up in bed, and he looked a lot better than he had two days ago. He was still pale and he couldn't stay standing for long thanks to the blood loss, but he was better. He had even talked his way into going to the ceremony today. He had to stay seated the whole time, but he was still going.

"You shouldn't be worried," Alec said. "It's a good speech."

"I just want to do them justice," Max replied. "They gave their lives to protect this place-"

"Max, you're gonna do fine," Alec cut in. "I've heard your speech over 100 times, you know it, and it does them justice."

Max walked over to his bed and sat on the edge, "What if I forget what I'm supposed to say?"

Alec shrugged and replied easily, "Just speak from the heart. This ceremony is so we can have a chance to say goodbye, so just say that if you forget." Max didn't say anything for a moment, and Alec moved closer to her. He gently touched her cheek, and then tucked her hair behind her ear. "It's gonna be fine."

Max leaned forward and lightly pressed her lips to his.

"Alright you two, break it up," Rocky said as he hopped into the room. There was a brace on his leg and he was using crutches to walk around. Bear walked in behind him and she shot Alec and Max a small smile when she saw them. "Where's Lucky?" Rocky asked as he eased himself down to sit on Lucky's old bed.

"Doc discharged him two hours ago," Alec grumbled.

Bear chuckled lightly as Rocky let out a deep laugh. "He let Lucky go before you?!" Rocky asked between his laughter. "That's hilarious. The kid had two holes in him! He shouldn't have been discharged for another day at least."

"Doc's just doing it to get back at him," Bear said in amusement.

"It's not my fault that he was the most qualified to cut me open and take out a bomb," Alec quickly defended.

"I'm never doing that again by the way," Doc said as he walked into the room.

Alec groaned when Doc walked in, and pushed himself back on the bed. Doc walked over to him and started doing his check. Alec didn't argue with him and he actually moved around before Doc even told him to. Alec was used to these checks now and just cooperated to get it over with faster.

Doc carefully pulled Alec's t-shirt up and checked his back, and then pulled out his stethoscope and listened to him breathe. He was doing a longer check than normal and Max was hopeful that Alec would actually be released today. She liked having him where he couldn't get in trouble and could be looked after, but she also wanted to take him home. She was really tired of staying in the Infirmary every night.

"Alright…" Doc said after a minute. "I can't think of a good reason to keep you here." Alec broke into a wide smile and Max felt her own smile appear at seeing his. "But you still have to take it easy," Doc continued. "I'm not clearing you for any activities, like supply runs or clean up. I'm just letting you go home, understand?"

"Got it," Alec replied. He was already starting to get out of bed and Doc looked up at the ceiling like he'd made a bad decision.

* * *

"Today we remember those we have lost," Max said. She was standing on the ruined steps of what used to be an apartment building. Alec was sitting off to the side away from the crowd. Max could still see him, but he couldn't stand for the entire ceremony so he had found a good spot beforehand where he could sit.

"They fought to protect those they loved and for something they believed in. Something we all believe in," Max continued. She shot a look over to Mole and he gave her a small smile in return. Bear was standing near Max, her sharp eyes focused on the crowd for any threats. Rocky was sitting next to him since he couldn't stand up there with Max.

"We honor them today and will forever keep them in our hearts." She got a little choked up when she said 'hearts', but Alec figured he was the only one that noticed. They were in the center of TC; it was the only place big enough for their burial.

Max paused in her speech and Alec looked at her in concern; she hadn't paused when she'd been practicing. He started to get up, but Rocky pulled him back down. "Give her a second."

"They were our friends, our family." Alec knew that wasn't part of her original speech. "And we're going to miss them." She had to stop for a second to take a deep breath and collect herself. "But we will never forget them."

Max took another deep breath, and then looked over to Mole. She looked back at the crowd and said, "We're going to read the names of those we've lost and if anyone wants to say anything…um, they can…"

This was the part that he wasn't going to be able to handle. He knew them all, and hearing other people share their memories or their last moments was going to be heartbreaking. But he couldn't leave. He owed it to them to be here.

"Auto," Max read out.

Alec couldn't help his small smile. Auto was the clumsiest transgenic Alec had known, but he could make anyone laugh. He worked on all the cars that they managed to steal and took parts from the broken down cars to fix them. He and Crank had given each other their names. Crank stood up now to say a few words for Auto.

"Jen," Max said once Crank was done.

Rain got up and Alec couldn't help but drop his head into his hands. Rain and Jen had gotten together after they had finished setting up the apartments. Alec had worked with both of them to get them what they needed and they were perfect for each other. Rocky put his hand on Alec's shoulder as Rain spoke.

Max kept reading out names, and someone stood up and said something about each one of them. Spark stood up and spoke for Reggie. They had become really good friends since they had bonded doing supply runs on his team.

Carter had multiple people stand up for him. His entire team said something and Spark stood up again and said how he saved her.

43 had died in the attack, and Max had read almost every name. There was only one left, and Alec knew who it was.

"Freckles," Max said. She looked up and her eyes met his. He took a deep breath and stood, slowly walking up to where Max was standing.

Alec looked at all the gathered transgenics; some looked confused since they didn't know who Freckles was and others looked surprised to see that he was there.

Alec cleared his throat, and then said, "A lot of you didn't know who Freckles was, and those that did…well…let's just say he didn't have many friends. But he was my friend. He didn't owe us anything, but he helped us fight. And he saved my life twice." Alec shot a look over at Max and she gave him a small smile in return. "I'm gonna miss him and everyone we lost, but Max is right, we're gonna remember them forever."

* * *

 _Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but I hope you guys all still like it! Next chapter will probably be the last!_


	22. Chapter 22

_Hey guys! Sorry for the really long wait, but I finally finished it! This is the last chapter and I just want to say thank you to everyone that stuck with it, followed, favorited, and definitely who reviewed! I hope you all liked the story! I am planning on a sequel but it might be a while, we'll see._

 _Just as a head's up, this chapter is rated Mature for sexual content._

 _Hope you all enjoy!_

* * *

"Please clear me for any kind of activity," Alec practically begged. "I'll even babysit the toddlers; I just can't sit around anymore. I think I'm going to die of boredom." He'd been cleared to go to their funeral and he'd been cleared to go back to his apartment with Max, but Doc still refused to let him do anything else.

"Don't clear him," Max stated, and Alec glared at her. "I like that you can't get into trouble and I've really liked sitting around with you at home. And, yesterday you passed out again."

"I did not," Alec immediately argued, and then relented, "I was just dizzy for a second…"

Doc ignored both of them as he checked Alec over. Alec was so tired of doing nothing. Max wouldn't let him out of her sight, which would be nice if she would at least stop acting like he was going to break at the slightest touch.

She would kiss him, but it was usually just a brush of her lips. She wouldn't let him take it any further than that, and it was driving him insane, and he had nothing to do to distract himself from her. If Doc cleared him, at least he would have something to do.

"You passed out in the shower," Max said in accusation.

"How did you know that?" Alec asked in confusion.

"I knew it!" Max exclaimed. "I knew you passed out!"

"How did you know that?" Alec repeated.

"You keep your showers short, and yesterday the shower was on for a good 10 minutes," Max said like it was obvious.

"Why didn't you come check on me?" Alec asked, sounding slightly pitiful.

Max hesitated and pink colored her cheeks.

"You didn't want to see me naked," Alec said, a slow smile starting to spread across his face. Doc pressed his stethoscope against Alec's back.

"No," Max instantly denied.

Alec burst out laughing and said, "You were afraid you couldn't resist my good looks!" Doc pulled away from him and shot him a disapproving look.

"That's not it," Max argued.

"Yes it is," Alec said with a cocky grin.

"Alec, please be quiet for a minute while I listen to you breathe," Doc said.

"Doc," Alec said instead of doing what he was told. "I was _this_ close to having sex yesterday. All Max had to do was walk into the shower and she wouldn't have been able to resist me! You have to clear me, I'm begging you!" Doc gave him an unamused look. "I haven't had sex since…" Alec had to stop and actually think about the last time he'd had sex. Alec shot an accusing look at Max.

"What?" Max asked in confusion.

"This is your fault," Alec said, and Max scowled. "I can't remember the last time I had sex and it's your fault."

"It is not!"

"You're withholding sex from me, and it's killing me," Alec said dramatically.

"You're not cleared for physical activity yet," Max replied with a smug smile.

"I will be," Alec said confidently.

"You won't be if you don't sit still and be quiet," Doc said.

Alec had to hold in his groan and force himself to sit still. Max smirked over at him and he glared back at her.

"Even if you are cleared, what makes you think we're having sex?" Max asked in amusement.

Alec took a deep breath, and then let it out in a huff.

"I may just clear him to get you two out of my Infirmary for a few days," Doc grumbled under his breath.

Alec smirked over at Max. She glared back at him and he winked at her. She couldn't keep up her glare and ended up breaking out into a small smile. Alec smiled back at her and tried to convey how much he wanted her. He loved her, and he would wait for her, but he still wanted her.

"Please stop making bedroom eyes in my Infirmary," Doc deadpanned.

"I can't help myself, Doc," Alec replied even though he was supposed to be quiet. Max was beautiful and she loved him back. He couldn't wait to be alone with her…

"And stop thinking about sex," Doc reprimanded. Alec scowled back at him, so he said, "Your heartbeat just skyrocketed. If you want to be cleared, you have to relax."

Alec took a deep breath and tried to relax, but he couldn't. Max was standing in front of him, looking at him with her warm, brown eyes and her full lips. He just wanted to kiss her…

"Max, you need to go," Alec suddenly said. Max opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off, "I can't relax with you standing right in front of me. All I can think about is when I finally get cleared…" Max's cheeks flushed at his suggestion. "So please wait outside for me so I can get cleared."

Max rolled her eyes, but then walked closer to him and kissed him on the cheek. He tried to turn his head to catch her lips, but she moved away from him too fast. She was out the door before he could even groan with the loss.

"See what I have to put up with," Alec grumbled to Doc once Max was gone.

"I don't feel that bad for you," Doc replied.

"Doc, you're gonna have to get over that whole digging a bomb out of my back sometime," Alec said with a smirk. "I mean, look at me, I'm completely fine. You did a great job!"

Doc glared at him, but he didn't say anything. Instead he practically blinded Alec by shining a flashlight in his eye. "Did you really pass out yesterday?" Doc asked after a moment.

Alec sighed, "I just got dizzy for a minute."

"You do know why I don't want to clear you, right?" Doc asked.

"Because you think I'll overdo it and end up here again in a few days," Alec mumbled.

"Which is true," Doc replied.

"What if I promised to still take it slow," Alec tried to bargain.

"I don't believe you," Doc stated.

"I swear," Alec replied earnestly. "I can't just sit around anymore; I need to do something. And it's not even completely about sex. I mean, I would love to have sex with Max, but really I need her to stop acting like I'm gonna break. I swear I won't overdo it, ok?"

Doc chuckled, "You're way too convincing when you want to be, you know that?" Alec just gave him a small smile in reply. Doc took a deep breath and said, "Ok, you're cleared. But you better not overdo it and I better not see you again for a long time, understand?"

Alec broke out into a wide smile and hopped off of the bed. "You got it, Doc!"

He practically ran to the door so Doc couldn't change his mind and Doc called out behind him, "Don't make me regret this!"

Alec ran out of the door and almost ran into Max on the other side. He stopped before he hit her and beamed back at her. He wanted to pick her up and spin her around, but he kept his promise to take it slow.

He did wrap his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She was smiling back at him and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"So, I guess you talked your way out of that one," Max said.

"He was going to clear me either way," Alec replied. "There's nothing wrong with me."

Max started to open her mouth to argue with him, but he stopped her by pressing his lips to hers. She stiffened in surprise, but then she relaxed against him and opened her mouth further. Alec barely brushed his tongue against hers, but then he pulled back a little and gently bit her bottom lip.

She made a sound of pleasure and pulled him even closer to her as she took over and swept her tongue inside his mouth. He turned them, and then backed them up until Max was against the wall. He pressed himself against her and she took in a short gasp of surprise.

Alec slowly edged his fingers under her shirt, but then Max suddenly slapped his hand away.

"What was that for?" Alec asked angrily.

"We are not having sex for the first time in the hallway!" Max said like it was obvious.

Alec threw his head back and groaned. Max ran her hand down his chest, and he looked back at her in surprise.

"I said we aren't having sex in the hallway, not that we weren't having sex," Max whispered. "We just have to make it back to the apartment…We both have the entire night off…"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Alec replied lowly.

He grabbed Max's wrist and quickly pulled her along. He wanted to run, but Max pulled him back every time he started to speed up. They finally made it to their apartment, but Alec stopped on their floor and looked to Rocky and Bear's place.

"What are you doing?" Max asked with a frown when he started walking to the wrong door.

Alec ignored her and knocked on the door. Bear appeared a moment later and her eyebrows rose in a silent question.

"I was cleared," Alec replied, easily reading what Bear was asking him. She looked like she didn't quite believe him though. "I was! You can ask Doc." Bear cocked her head to the side, silently asking him what he wanted. "Where's Rocky?"

"I'm relaxing!" Rocky called out from inside the apartment. "And you took my pillow!"

Bear shot a look back inside the apartment that made Rocky chuckle.

"I want both of you to know that Max and I have the night off," Alec said. "So whatever happens in TC, we're not available."

"What are you trying to tell us, Alec?" Rocky asked.

"I'm saying that Max and I are going to be very busy by ourselves tonight and that you're not allowed to drop by for any reason," Alec tried to spell out.

"I still don't get it, Alec," Rocky said.

Alec sighed, "We're having sex, ok?"

Rocky laughed and Bear broke out into a smile.

"No kidding," Rocky said after a moment. "But you know, I think I got that when you told Bear that you were cleared."

Alec rolled his eyes, but then said, "I just want to make it very clear that we don't want to be disturbed tonight." He turned back around and grabbed Max's hand and started back to their apartment.

"Make sure you use protection!" Rocky called out after him.

Alec shot a look over his shoulder, but Bear winked at him and he sighed. She gave him a thumb's up, and then went back inside.

"What was that for?" Max asked curiously as they went into their own house.

"You know Rocky would have picked tonight for movie night if I hadn't said something," Alec said.

Max looked at him with a small smile, and he quickly closed the distance between them. He brushed her hair back and crushed his lips to hers. She instantly responded and put her hands on his hips and brought him closer.

Alec ran his hand down Max's side as he kissed her, and then edged his fingers under her shirt again. He ran his hand along the smooth skin of her back. She tangled her fingers in his hair and he lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist.

"Should you be-" Max started, but Alec cut her off.

"I'm fine." He kissed her so she couldn't tell him he needed to take it slower.

He walked back to his bedroom where they'd been sleeping since he'd gotten out of the Infirmary. Max dropped her feet to the floor so she was standing, but she immediately started to pull his shirt off of him. He pulled his shirt the rest of the way off and tossed it to the side.

He grabbed the bottom edge of Max's shirt and pulled it up and off. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her neck as they moved back towards the bed. He eased her onto the bed so she was lying on her back and he followed her down so he was on top of her.

Max ran her fingers through his hair as he moved his lips from her neck to her collar bone. He bit her delicate skin and she took in a deep breath so her breasts pressed against his chest. The fabric of her bra rubbed against him, so he put his hand underneath her and easily unhooked it.

Alec kissed from Max's collar bone down to the slope of her breast. He kissed the fabric of her bra, and then pulled the bra down to kiss her bare breast and he took her nipple into his mouth. She gasped and her hips met his as he pulled her bra completely off of her. He ground his hips against her, but then he pulled back slightly; she had made him wait this long for sex, and now it was his turn to make her wait.

Alec put one hand against Max's hip and covered one of her breasts with his other hand. She moaned at his touch and he smiled against her bare skin. Max put her hand on the back of his head to keep him where he was and he gently nipped her nipple.

"Alec," Max gasped.

Alec squeezed Max's breast, and then moved his hand that was on her hip over to the button of her pants. He undid the button and slowly started to pull her pants down. She wiggled her hips and helped kick them the rest of the way off.

He spread her legs further apart and pressed his hand against her. She writhed against him and moaned with pleasure. He pulled her underwear off and slowly touched her. He kissed her lips again; he swept his tongue in her mouth at the same time he put one finger inside her.

Her hips bucked against him, but he pulled away.

"Alec," Max growled lowly.

Alec smirked at her, and then slowly eased in another finger. Her eyes closed in pleasure as he brought her closer to the edge. She was just about to go over when he stopped and pulled away from her completely.

Max's eyes flew open and she glared at him. Alec kissed her neck and whispered, "Relax…"

Max pushed him over and demanded, "Take off your pants."

"I just want you to relax," Alec replied.

"I don't want to relax. I want you to take off your pants," Max said again.

"You want them off so bad, take them off yourself," Alec challenged.

Max's eyes glinted and she pushed him so he was on his back. She trailed her fingers down his chest, but then stopped when she reached his belt. She very slowly undid his belt and unzipped his jeans. She tugged his jeans down his hips until they were all the way off.

Max started for his boxers but he tackled her back to the bed. "You just said pants," Alec said. He started to get up, but then he said, "Stay here."

Max's eyes narrowed as he got out of bed, and he winked back at her. He shed his boxers without a second thought and walked over to the dresser across the room. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a packet of condoms.

He tossed Max one of the packets and put the rest on the nightstand next to the bed. He got back into bed and lounged next to Max. She ripped open the little packet, and then straddled him. She slowly started to roll the condom onto him. She took her time and Alec groaned at the sensation of her hands against him. She went slowly, inch by inch, and he throbbed in her hands.

He finally couldn't take it anymore and he pushed her back again. He spread her legs apart, and then hovered over her for a second. He slowly pushed inside her until he was all the way in. She wrapped her legs around him and pushed him further.

He couldn't believe how amazing she felt around him. He'd had sex before, but with Max it felt like something else entirely. They were perfect for each other, and he never wanted this moment to end.

Alec rocked slowly inside her. She moaned in pleasure and easily met his pace. She tried to speed them up, but he wouldn't let her. He wanted release as much as she did, but he also wanted this to last. And he liked teasing her.

Their bodies were slick with sweat as they moved together. He slid one hand under her and lifted her up just a little so he could push in even further. He kept his strokes slow and even, but he didn't think he could keep this up for much longer.

"Alec, please…" Max breathed out with her eyes closing with pleasure.

They started to breathe harder as he increased their pace. Max clawed at his back as they both got closer to the edge. They were starting to lose control; thrusting against each other with wild passion.

"Alec!" Max cried out when she reached her breaking point. She squeezed around him and he couldn't hold out anymore. Alec thrust a few more times before he reached his limit and released into her.

He collapsed against Max, breathing hard. She ran her fingers through his slightly sweaty hair and he kissed her jaw, and then her cheek. He rolled off of her and lay next to her on his back.

"Max," Alec breathed out. He looked over at her and she looked back at him, waiting for him to continue. "It's going to be next to impossible now, but we can't have sex every five minutes, ok?"

Max fought off a smile as she pushed him over. He laughed, and then grabbed her and held her against him. She kissed him on the lips before she pulled away slightly and said, "I can't believe we waited so long to do that."

"If someone hadn't made me rest for so long, we could have done it sooner," Alec replied with a smirk.

Max gave him another quick kiss, and then asked with a smile, "You wanna go again?"

Alec tenderly pressed his lips to hers, but then pulled back, "We actually have to wait two more minutes before we can go again, otherwise it won't even be five minutes…"

Max rolled her eyes and started pressing kisses along his jaw and back towards his ear. He chuckled and tightened his arms around her.

* * *

Max was in heaven. Alec had not been exaggerating when he'd told her how amazing it would be. She'd had sex before, but it had been nothing compared to Alec. They'd had sex a few more times before they were both worn out. They showered together afterwards, but it was pretty tame compared to how it could have been. Now they were both in bed again.

Max had slept for a while, but Alec was pretty much dead to the world. He was lying on his stomach with his face turned towards her. She was pressed against his side and he had his arm wrapped around her waist in his sleep.

Max kissed Alec's shoulder, somewhat hoping he would wake up and somewhat hoping he would stay asleep. She trailed her fingers down the curve of his back, and then back up. She hoped her touch had the same effect on him that his touch had on her. Everywhere he touched was like fire against her skin, causing her more pleasure than she could have imagined.

"Max," Alec suddenly mumbled in his sleep. "I can't…"

Max smiled, and then grazed Alec's skin with her teeth.

"I physically can't," Alec mumbled. "I need more sleep…"

"This is why you should have shark DNA," Max whispered to him.

Alec gave her a sleepy smile, but then relaxed again. Max kept trailing her fingers along his back; his skin was soft and the repetitive motion was almost soothing to her.

"Max," Alec breathed out.

Max shushed him, "Just sleep…"

She could feel the scar from his recent back surgery. She hated thinking about how close she had been to losing Alec. He was the most important person to her and she loved him. She couldn't lose him.

Max moved her hand from Alec's back and down his arm that was over her waist. She grabbed his hand and brought it closer to her lips. She kissed his fingertips, and then held his hand with both of hers.

Alec suddenly shifted and turned so he was lying on his side. He pulled her against his chest and buried his face in his hair.

"I'm sorry. You can sleep, I'll stop," Max said quickly.

"You're driving me crazy," Alec whispered to her. Max smiled knowing that her touch was enough to wake him up and keep him awake.

"I can't help it," Max replied with a smile.

"If you want good sex, you'll let me sleep some more," Alec said. "I need energy."

"I'm not saying we should have sex. I'm just bored," Max said. "And you sleep too much."

"You could go visit Bear and Rocky," Alec suggested. His voice was starting to slur with sleep again.

"I wanna stay with you," Max said, snuggling closer to him. "You're nice and warm."

"Why don't you try going back to sleep?" Alec suggested.

Alec relaxed completely, falling asleep again. Max listened to him breathe, and eventually dozed off against him. She woke again though, when she heard muffled voices outside their apartment door. She couldn't tell what they were saying, but it sounded like Rocky and Mole were talking to each other.

Mole sounded grumpy as usual and Rocky seemed to be trying to calm him down. Max sighed and started to untangle herself from Alec. He stayed asleep, but he rolled so he was lying on his stomach again.

Max ran around the room, looking for her clothes. Alec had tossed them everywhere the night before, and now she couldn't find them. She ended up finding his shirt and pulled it on, and then she found her pants and pulled those on too before she snuck through the apartment.

"They deserve some time off," Rocky said softly. Max could hear what they were saying now that she was closer to the door.

"They've had the whole night," Mole grumbled, "And this is urgent. Why else would I be the one coming up here?"

"What is it?" Rocky asked curiously.

"Just move out of my way and you can hear it the same time I tell Max," Mole replied.

Max rolled her eyes, and then opened the door. Rocky was standing in front of the door blocking Mole from it. They both looked over when she opened the door; Rocky smirked at her, but Mole still looked grumpy.

"Finally," Mole said.

"What's going on?" Max asked.

"How was your night?" Rocky asked instead of answering her.

Max glared at Rocky, and then looked back to Mole.

"Someone's here to see you," Mole stated.

"Who?" Max asked with a frown.

"The new Mayor," Mole replied.

Max's mouth dropped open in shock and Rocky pushed Mole's shoulder and asked, "Are you serious?!"

"Do I look like I joke around?" Mole shot back. He turned and started walking down the stairs, but he called over his shoulder, "Wake Pretty Boy up and get your ass to Command."

"He's not joking," Max muttered as Mole left.

"The new Mayor?" Rocky asked her. "Why is the new Mayor here?"

"I have no idea," Max replied. "I didn't even know they already got a new Mayor."

They both stood there for a moment in silence, but then Max said, "Go get Bear and I'll get Alec, and then we'll meet up in just a few minutes and go down there, ok?"

"Good plan, boss," Rocky said. He turned back to his apartment at the same time Max turned back to hers.

Alec was still asleep when she got to the bedroom. She didn't really want to wake him up again, but he wouldn't want to miss this.

"Alec," Max said as she looked around for her actual shirt and the rest of his clothes. Alec didn't move and she huffed. "Alec, c'mon, we've got something we need to do."

Alec mumbled into his pillow, but Max didn't know what he said.

"I'm not joking, Alec. We need to get to Command. The new Mayor's here to see us," Max said, hoping this would be enough to catch his attention.

Alec turned a little to glance over at her. He frowned and asked, "New Mayor?"

"Yeah, so you need to get up and get dressed so we can go talk to him," Max said quickly.

Alec pushed himself up and Max tossed some of his clothes at him. "Do we even want to talk to this guy?" Alec asked as he started getting dressed. "I mean, I'm not the biggest fan of Mayors…"

"I'm not either, but we still need to talk to him," Max replied.

"I wonder what he wants…" Alec said.

"I don't know. All I know is that he's in Command waiting for us," Max said.

* * *

Alec and Max met up with Bear and Rocky before they walked over to Command. Alec didn't want to meet the new Mayor. He was probably just as bad as the last one, or maybe even worse. He couldn't imagine what the guy wanted or why he was there, but he wasn't going to let Max go alone.

Alec led the way into Command and immediately started looking for Mole. He saw him after just a moment and walked over to him.

"So where's this new Mayor?" Alec asked.

"Told him to wait in the conference room," Mole replied.

Alec frowned, "Wasn't that where we were keeping the shooter?"

"You miss a lot when your new home is the Infirmary," Mole replied. Alec glared at him so he sighed and said, "He broke out during the attack. Don't know exactly what happened, but he's gone."

"What do we know about the Mayor?" Max asked.

"Name's Jason Coburg. He's only been the Mayor for a week and he only brought one guard with him. That's all we know," Mole replied.

"What's he want?" Alec asked.

"Just said he wanted to talk to the leader. He didn't want any trouble, just wanted to talk," Mole answered.

"Yeah, I bet," Alec grumbled.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to talk to him to be sure," Max said.

Alec sighed, but he agreed and they walked back to the conference room. Rocky went in first, but Alec quickly followed. Bear tried to pull him back, but he had to make sure nothing was going to happen to Max.

Jason Coburg looked like he was in his early 30's with his short hair perfectly combed. He had laugh lines around his eyes, but Alec still wasn't sure about him. His bodyguard was a little smaller than Rocky. He wore a suit and he was completely serious.

Jason brightened when they walked into the room and he gave them a wide smile. "Hello, I'm Jason Coburg and this is my bodyguard, Trevor Hill." Jason moved to shake their hands, but none of them moved to take him up. He dropped his hand awkwardly, and then said, "I guess the last Mayor wasn't that great to you, and I'm sorry about that…"

"I'm Max and this is Alec, Rocky, and Bear," Max introduced after a moment. "And no, we didn't really get along very well with the last Mayor."

"What do you want?" Alec asked bluntly. Max elbowed him, but he ignored her.

Jason cleared his throat, "I just wanted to meet you and start to get to know you all better. Maybe start building a foundation for negotiating supplies and finding a way to help out with the rebuilding."

"We don't need your help," Alec practically growled. Max shot him a look, clearly telling him to knock it off or else she would make him leave.

"What Alec means to say is, we've been attacked recently so we're not so into the whole trusting thing yet, especially with politicians," Max said quickly.

"I understand," Jason began, "But I really do want things to be different."

"What kind of negotiations are we talking about?" Max asked.

"Well support groups for you guys are already starting to pop up and donations are being sent in. The attack was caught on camera, and I know this sounds terrible, but the attack actually gained you guys a lot of support. We still need to get those donations to you guys, but I'd like to find a way to trade somehow so in the future, supplies won't be a problem and at the same time support for you will grow."

Alec glanced over at Max. He thought it sounded too good to be true, but he couldn't tell how Max felt.

"We need to think about it," Max finally replied.

Jason quickly nodded, "Of course! I didn't expect an answer today! I really just wanted to meet you all."

"Oh…" Max said.

"I'm sorry; I'm not really sure how to go about this. I'm really just making this up as I go," Jason said with a smile.

"Well, so far you're doin' better than the last one," Alec said with a smirk.

Jason gave him a wide smile, "I am very glad to hear that!" It was quiet for a moment, then he said, "I expect you all have a lot you need to be doing." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card that he handed to Max. "I wrote my cell on the back if you can't get through to the office. If you want to talk sometime, just give me a call."

Max took the card and nodded. Jason held out his hand again, and this time Max shook it. He held out his hand next to Alec. He hesitated for a second, but then shook the politician's hand. If the mayor was going to try, then he would too. Jason shook Rocky and Bear's hands too before he started for the door.

"I hope to hear from you all soon," Jason said over his shoulder before he walked out of the door.

* * *

Max had been called away almost immediately after the new Mayor had left so Alec had gone back to the apartment. He was still tired and he'd promised that he wouldn't take things too fast, so he'd gone back to bed.

He slept for a few more hours and when he'd woken up, Max still wasn't there. He'd watched some TV, cleaned up his room, and even showered again after he'd woken up. He had been out of things to do, but he didn't really want to go to Command and just hang out. Passing through was fine, but longer than that would be hard.

He didn't know if he was ready yet to notice all of the missing people; his friends who had died in the battle. He'd only been in the Infirmary and his room since the funeral so he'd kind of been in his own bubble and he hadn't faced his friends being gone.

So instead, he was on the roof of the apartment. He was just sitting on the edge, watching the world go by and taking it easy. He had to go out of his window and scale the building though, so Bear wouldn't notice; he wanted to be alone and if she'd heard him, she would've followed.

It was nice out and from where he was, he could see most of TC. There was a lot of destruction, but Alec was already thinking of how they could rebuild. They could make TC better than it had been; make it a place that could actually be their home. He was actually excited to start working on it.

"Hey," Max suddenly said behind him. He jumped a little; he hadn't heard her come up there.

"Hey," Alec replied in surprise.

"What are you doing up here?" Max asked curiously. She walked over and sat down next to him on the edge of the roof. "I looked for you everywhere. Bear didn't even know where you were."

Alec shrugged, "I was just thinkin'…"

"About what?" Max asked.

"Rebuilding," Alec replied easily. Max nodded and leaned against him. He put his arm around her and held her close. "We have to clean it out first, but then we can make more apartments over there, a daycare over on that side, another mess hall, maybe a gym somewhere in there too." He pointed out where he thought they should put things as he said them.

Max pulled away from him slightly and smiled. "You came up with all that while you were up here?" Alec nodded. "I should've come to find you sooner."

"Why?" Alec asked in confusion.

"We've been arguing in Command about how to rebuild. That's what I've been doing for a few hours now…" Max said. "If I'd gotten you, then the whole thing would be settled."

Alec chuckled, "I'm just daydreaming here, we don't have to do any of that, especially if you guys already came up with things."

"Alec, the most we agreed on was that we needed to clean it up before we started rebuilding. You already have ideas of what to build and where to build it. We need you in Command," Max replied.

"I don't know, Max," Alec said softly, looking away from her.

Max reached out and gently turned his head to face her, "Alec, what's wrong? I thought you'd be living in Command once you were cleared…"

Alec hesitated, "…I just…it's…there's gonna be a lot of missing people in Command." Max instantly wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. "Oh, Max," Alec said in surprise. "I'm just being a baby."

Max shook her head no against him, "No, I'm sorry, I didn't even think about it."

"Max, it's ok, really," Alec tried to reassure.

"No Alec. Don't you dare go back there before you're ready, ok? I don't want to force you back before you're ready," Max said.

Alec smiled and kissed the top of Max's head. He loved her so much and he didn't know what he'd do without her.

"Now, tell me more about the new TC," Max whispered.

"It's gonna be 10 times better than the last one. We'll probably need to get the new mayor to donate some things, or we can steal them, either way is fine with me. But we can build whatever we want! I'm definitely thinking we need an indoor pool somewhere…"

Max laughed, "That sounds great to me. But I don't know if Mole will sign off on the pool…"

"I don't care if he wants one or not! I want it, so I'll build it," Alec replied with a smile.

Max playfully pushed him, "If you say so. But when he's pissed, you're the one that has to deal with him."

Alec laughed, "Fine by me. I'm not afraid of him."

They sat there and watch TC for a while. Max eventually got to her feet and stood beside him.

"Can we go back inside now? My butt's numb," Max said with a smile.

Alec nodded and Max gave him a hand up. "Are we going back to our bedroom?" Alec asked with a smirk.

Max bumped into him, "Only if you're not too tired…"

"I took a nap."

"Good, cause I was completely distracted all day…" Max said dramatically.

"Last night was just the warm up," Alec replied. "Hope you're ready…"

"Bring it on," Max challenged.

Alec smiled; he hadn't been this happy in a long time. He had Max by his side, who he loved and who loved him back, and he actually had hope for the future. A future that he'd never even imagined before. He had a home now, and he wouldn't trade it for the world.

* * *

 _The End_


	23. Chapter 23

_Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you guys know that there is a sequel to this story, but for some reason it doesn't show up on the site except under my stories. I've tried to get it fixed, but I've never heard anything back. A few of you have found the story, but I thought I'd let everyone who followed/Favorited/reviewed this story know that there is a sequel. This is just a little preview, the chapters I have finished so far can be found here_ _s/11947251/1/When-the-Levee-Breaks_

 _I hope you guys check it out!_

* * *

"Hey man," Alec greeted as he and Bear walked over to Lucky. He was wearing a hard hat and he handed a hard hat to both Alec and Bear.

"Why do we have to wear these things?" Lucky complained.

"Because this is a worksite and this is what people wear at worksites to stay safe," Alec explained with a smile.

"We're transgenics, Alec. Our reflexes can prevent any accidents from happening," Lucky said. "We should see them comin' a mile away."

Alec chuckled and patted Lucky on the shoulder, "Just wear it. You might thank me someday."

Lucky shook his head, but then pulled out the blueprints for the gym. He rolled them out and pointed to the south section, "I think we'll be able to get the rest of the frame done today, and then start in on the roof and siding."

"Good," Alec said with a smile. He started walking through the outline of the gym and Lucky and Bear followed him. Heavy loads of the beams were being pulled up by ropes so they could get to the top. Drills could be heard as transgenics put together the support beams. Some of them called out to him to say hello as he walked by and he nodded back to them. Everyone was eager to help where they could and none of them could wait to see the finished product.

Alec had three different buildings being built at the moment. The gym was the one he was most excited about because this would give them a place to blow off steam. The other two buildings were apartment buildings. They were also trying to fix up Command at the same time, but that was more of a patch job. Command had been hit in the attack, but it hadn't been completely destroyed like many of the other buildings.

They had a lot of work to do, but no one was willing to give up. They all wanted to make TC a more livable place because this was their home now. And since they could build whatever they wanted, it was even better.

It had taken them a while to learn how to build what they wanted. Their expertise was in assassinations and military tactics; they'd never had to build anything before. So, after they had an idea of what they wanted to build, they did some research on how to actually accomplish this endeavor. Jason, the mayor, had also helped them out. He issued them a cement truck to make their foundations and he coordinated with them to get their supplies.

Luckily, Max had helped out with the negotiations for supplies. He was good at dealing with thugs for what he wanted, but the mayor was not the type he was used to dealing with. Besides that, he had some serious trust issues with mayors. This guy wasn't so bad, but since the last one had been partly responsible for his capture and torture he wasn't going to take any chances.

There was a sudden snap that brought Alec back to the present. He looked up just in time to see one of the ropes had broken and support beams were falling, heading right for him. Lucky was standing beside him, so he instantly shoved him out of the way.

Bear tackled him just as the support beams crashed into the ground. He and Bear rolled away from the disaster, but Alec quickly sat up and looked around for Lucky.

Lucky slowly pushed himself up, and Alec was glad to see he appeared to be ok. Alec stood and held out his hand to help Bear up too. He walked over to where the beams had crashed; the cement beneath them was cracked and the beams were bent. Alec looked up to see what could have caused this, but the only thing visible was the frayed hope hanging down. There was no one around the rope, and he had no idea what had happened.

"I guess I should thank you for making me wear this thing…" Lucky muttered, pointing to his hard hat.

Alec tried to smile back, but something with this situation didn't feel right. He couldn't place it, but this didn't feel like an accident.

He suddenly felt like someone was watching him again. He spun around to look for the source, but there was no one.


End file.
